ONE Briton is through, another was knocked out, and two of the biggest names in the women's game also fell by the wayside as the first round neared completion.

Heather Watson showed her battling qualities at their best by winning the single-set shoot-out against Caroline Garcia of France after their match had been suspended because of poor light on Monday night when it was nicely balanced at a set apiece. Laura Robson failed to follow her Fed Cup team-mate into the second round, and the two big casualties were Simona Halep, the No 3 seed, and last year's runner-up, Eugenie Bouchard.

Watson, who resumed her match with the 32nd seed with the score at 1-6, 6-3, saved three match points at 5-4 down before eventually prevailing 8-6. She was given a code violation for swearing at herself for not closing the match out sooner, but that failed to put her off her stride as she made her way into a second-round encounter with Daniela Hantuchova.

"I think that was my first time ever stopping a match due to bad light, so it was a new experience for me," the British No 1 said. "But I just made sure that today when I went on the court I was already sweating, I was ready to go, fired up. I think that was very important just to start the match well, not like I did the day before."

While Watson can look forward to her next match here, Robson was knocked out in straight sets - but will still be able to look to the future with justifiable optimism after her first outing in a major following a lengthy break enforced by a wrist injury. Robson, who took only one game in her competitive comeback against Daria Gavrilova in Eastbourne a week ago, looked far stronger and sharper here in her 6-4, 6-4 defeat by Evgeniya Rodina.

There were still errors aplenty and regular moments of nervousness from the 21-year-old, but at last, after several setbacks, she has concrete proof that she is again in the physical shape to compete at this level. In a month or two, provided her progress back to full match fitness is completed, this is the sort of match that Robson might well win.

And, despite the frustration that rustiness can produce, she was able to assess this encounter with a degree of satisfaction. "Compared to the match I played last week, it was infinitely better," Robson said. "There were so many positives from today that I can go back and work on.

"I was the one hitting winners, but I was the one hitting unforced errors as well. Just in terms of finishing points better, moving better, definitely serving better, it's all things to work on and things to take into the next few much smaller tournaments.

"I was extremely nervous before I went on. Every time I felt like I was getting ahead in the game or I had a breakpoint, it was like the last 17 months of nerves just coming out and saying 'Hi'.

"It was a lot to take in, but it was so much better than last week. Last week on court, I was almost hyperventilating. This was infinitely better and it will continue to improve."

Petra Kvitova, the defending champion and No 2 seed, wasted no time in booking her place in the next round, swatting aside Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-0 in the fastest match the main tour has seen for several years. It was all over in 36 minutes, and afterwards the Czech apologised to her parents for not giving them a longer spectacle on Centre Court.

Bouchard, who showed such promise on the way to the final against Kvitova last year, has endured a torrid time since. Some unexpected defeats provoked a crisis of confidence, which brought about more defeats, and so the vicious circle continued. The Canadian's problems were exacerbated against Ying-Ying Duan of China by an abdominal tear she has been carrying, and although she got off to a decent start, she looked disheartened some time before the end of her 6-4, 6-4 defeat.

Romania's Halep, last year's French Open finalist and a semi-finalist here in 2013, also began well enough in her match against Jana Cepelova, winning the first set 7-5. But the Slovakian then fought back in a match which saw 15 breaks of serve, and took the next two sets 6-4, 6-3. Cepelova, the world No 106, had won just one match on tour this year before coming to Wimbledon.

Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark's No 5 seed, eased through in straight sets against Saisai Zheng, beating her Chinese opponent 7-5, 6-0. Elena Makarova, the No 8 seed from Russia, also went through in two as she defeated Sachia Vickery of the USA 6-2, 6-4.

After the two double bagels recorded on Day One by Venus Williams and Andrea Petkovic, Angelique Kerber made it three with a thrashing of Carina Witthoeft. At least the No 10 seed had the decency to take 44 minutes to see off the challenge of her fellow-German, whereas Williams and Petkovic had needed only 41 and 38 minutes respectively.