IT took just more than an hour for the bright promise of Elena Baltacha to dissipate in the chill air of Court 3.

The 29-year-old Scot had come to Wimbledon for a 12th time, bolstered by fine performances at Eastbourne and victory at Nottingham. Yet she slid to defeat to Flavia Pennetta, the 31-year-old Italian with whom she shares a ranking in the 160s, both having suffered time out through injury. Pennetta, however, was ranked 10th in the world in 2009 and there were embers of that considerable fire yesterday. They were enough to raze Baltacha, whose forehand misfired and whose serve never sizzled.

After one hour and 14 minutes, she shook Pennetta's hand after the Italian had completed a routine 6-4, 6-1 victory. Balatacha's long career at Wimbledon has included only seven victories and there was never a suspicion she would add to this yesterday. The gloom for British hopes continued with the defeats of Samantha Murray, Johanna Konta and Anne Keothavong, whose elevation to the Centre Court ended in a brisk defeat by Sabrine Muguruza of Spain, 6-4, 6-0.

These three losses were expected but there had been hope riding on Baltacha. Her good form and determination were seen as factors that could take her into the second round. The first deserted her, the second remains. Baltacha has been as high as No.49 in the world and is determined to climb back up the rankings after the foot injury and subsequent surgery that prompted her to announce her retirement after the Olympics. This decision was quickly reversed and Baltacha, in the wake of what was a dispiriting defeat, emphasised that she now had the British No.1 slot as her goal.

This seems extraordinarily optimistic given that Heather Watson, at 19, and Laura Robson, at 21, are sure to improve significantly in the short-term. "The challenge I've set myself is I want my No. 1 spot back. I had it for a while," she said, adding that she had been inspired by the "young and talented" Watson and Robson.

Baltacha believes she can play at the top level for another four years and said her decision to return was prompted by a conversation with her coach, Nino Severino, after she had surgery on her foot.

"I said to him that there was no point going through the rehab, going through all that, trying to get myself back to say 'I'm only going to play for a year.' There's too much you're sacrificing, the hard work," she said.

Her disappointment at yesterday's result was heightened by the anticipation she felt before the match. "I was really ready coming off last week," she said of her performances at Eastbourne where she defeated Kristyna Pliskova before losing a tight match to Maria Kirilenko, the world No.10. "Even before the schedule came out, I was hoping I would be [playing on] Monday, because I felt like I was playing really well."

The reality is that Pennetta was too good. The same sentiment applied to her countrywoman, Camila Giorgi, who beat Murray 6-3, 6-4. Konta also fell in straight sets, to Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, 6-2, 7-5.

If the Brits were casualties of a wounding first day at Wimbledon, there was a truce in the Serena v Shara war. Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have been involved in a spat over comments the world No.1 made in Rolling Stone magazine. The American has apologised to the Russian for any offence and Sharapova did not add anything to the fire yesterday after defeating Kristina Mladenovic 7-6, 6-3. "I've said everything I wanted to say about the issue," she said. "Wimbledon has started. This is my work. This is my job. I'd really appreciate it if we move on."

However, Sharapova, who admitted she had no close friends on tour, pointedly omitted Williams when asked who was the best women player ever. She talked glowingly, though, of Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.

Victoria Azarenka, the No.2 seed, survived a scare when she fell awkwardly in her victory in her otherwise straightforward 6-1, 6-2 win over Maria Joao Koehler. The Belarussian said she feared the worst when she crashed to the grass. She will undergo further tests today.