Naomi Broady pushed local favourite Daria Gavrilova all the way but fell just short of inflicting another British upset in the Australian Open first round.
Heather Watson had earlier knocked out Australian number one Samantha Stosur in three nervy sets but, despite a courageous effort, Broady was unable to follow suit as world number 26 Gavrilova triumphed 3-6 6-4 7-5.
Broady's defeat means Britain boast five players in the second round of the singles events in Melbourne for the first time since six made it through in 1987.
Watson and Johanna Konta are both through in the women's draw while Andy Murray, Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund progressed in the men's.
Gavrilova, meanwhile, who made the fourth round 12 months ago and is a hugely popular character here, goes through to meet Croatia's 19-year-old Ana Konjuh.
Broady and Gavrilova are good friends from their time spent training together at the Mouratoglou Academy in France and after an enthralling battle lasting just under two hours on Margaret Court Arena, the pair shared a warm embrace at the net.
"I'm really glad I ended up winning, it was a really tough match," Gavrilova said afterwards.
"We're good friends, we were chatting just before the match and I always knew we were going to have a big battle and that's what happened."
Broady, at 6ft 2in, owns a demon serve and she put it to good use, shooting 19 aces, many of them in pressure situations.
Once into the rallies, however, Gavrilova was the more composed, her 15 unforced errors to Broady's 31 ultimately proving decisive.
The Russian-born Australian enjoyed the passionate support of the crowd but Broady also departed to a rapturous ovation, having played in her first Australian Open main draw but fourth consecutive grand slam.
She showed no signs of nerves in the opening set, seizing the initiative at 4-3 with a break and then serving out to move one in front.
Broady's serve, however, dipped in the second and Gavrilova took advantage as she broke twice, the second time decisively at 5-4 to force a decider.
Gavrilova was now doing her utmost to rouse support, skipping into changes of ends and twirling her finger in the air as if cranking up the volume herself.
Broady came under pressure when serving at 4-3, largely due to her own carelessness, as three consecutive forehands missed to give Gavrilova a break point.
Again, however, the Briton's serve came to the rescue, with two aces in a row holding for 4-4 and it was not until 6-5 that Gavrilova made another charge.
This time it proved fatal, as a nervous Broady volley limped into the net before a forehand fired wide to confirm the Australian's hard-earned victory.
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