Johanna Konta's big-stage spark shows every sign of returning despite slipping to a 6-4 6-7 7-5 defeat to Garbine Muguruza in the early hours of the Melbourne morning.
The heavily delayed contest, the latest-starting match in Australian Open history, proved a titanic tussle that the British number one bossed for long periods.
Former Wimbledon champion Muguruza edged the first before Konta clawed her way back with second-set tie break success.
The 27-year-old was composed on serve into the early hours and held to love on several occasions, while unable to dislodge her opponent's serve.
She was the aggressor for much of the third set but the Spaniard finally broke her stubborn back-court resistance to claim decisive 7-5 victory.
Konta, semi-finalist in Melbourne back in 2016, will soon be deliving deep into major tournaments in such form.
Earlier in the day, there was a clean sweep of British doubles success.
Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares came through in straight sets, but the third seeds did not have it all their own way against Andres Moltini and Roman Jebavy.
After taking the first set 6-4, Murray and Soares clinched the crucial second 13-11 on a tie-break to book their place in the second round.
In an enthralling battle on Court 14, Cameron Norrie and American Taylor Fritz had too much for the Bosnian pairing of Mirza Basic and Damir Dzumhur.
Norrie and Fritz prevailed 7-6 (9-7) to strike a decisive blow in the opening set, while they followed it up with 7-5 in the second.
Neal and Ken Skupski ran out 6-3 6-4 victors over Australians James Duckworth and Jordan Thompson, while 11th seeds Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram outclassed Guido Pella and Hans Podlipnik-Castillo 6-0 6-4.
In the women’s doubles, Harriet Dart and Estonian Anett Kontaveit were also victorious over home opposition, proving too good for Kimberly Birrell and Priscilla Hon, as they found an extra gear to pull away and win 6-4 2-6 6-4.