Serena Williams opened her Wimbledon defence with a 6-0 6-4 victory over Portuguese teenager Michelle Larcher de Brito.
The world No.1 and top seed needed just 63 minutes to dispatch De Brito, 17, and set up a second-round meeting with Anna Chakvetadze, almost certainly in front of the Queen on Thursday.
Williams was grateful for the workout against an opponent whose battling display in the second set won the admiration of Centre Court.
"I served well but I could have came to the net more often," said the 28-year-old.
"She's a good player. I played her before and that was good because I knew what to expect. She doesn't look it, but she definitely packs a punch."
"It was good for me because most people that do play nowadays hit really hard. It was good to get someone that hit really hard early on."
Danish third seed Caroline Wozniacki overwhelmed Italian Tathiana Garbin 6-1 6-1 in just 47 minutes.
Wozniacki, a US Open finalist last September and still just 19, was super impressive on Court One.
It was suggested to Wozniacki that since Maria Sharapova won the Wimbledon title as a 17-year-old in 2004, teenagers have struggled to make a major impact on the tour.
She was quick to state: "I think I'm an exception to that. And I think that reaching No.2 [she was until recently ranked second], it's not easy. Not everyone can do that."
"I think the tour has just become very tough."
"I really think that age doesn't matter. I think you can be 30 and be on the top of the ranking, and you can be 17. It really doesn't matter. It's just about going out there, doing your best, and you can see how far you can go, how far your own limits are."
Wozniacki might have taken the early lead in the Wimbledon fashion stakes, having sported a Stella McCartney-designed outfit.
"Well, I like to dress up and look nice," she said. "I think it's nice to have a nice-looking dress on as well."
Sharapova meanwhile needed just 54 minutes to launch her Wimbledon title assault by swatting aside Russian compatriot Anastasia Pivovarova 6-1 6-0 on Court Two.
"I feel good. My body feels good. I'm in much better match condition than I was last year," said Sharapova, the 16th seed and 2004 Wimbledon champion.
"Absolutely I feel that on my better days I can beat anyone again."
Ninth seed Li Na of China, a quarter-finalist in 2006, cruised past South Africa Chanelle Scheepers 7-6 6-2 on Court Five and was followed into the second round by compatriot and 23rd seed Jie Zheng, who beat France's Pauline Parmentier 7-5 6-4.
Chakvetadze of Russia beat Andrea Petkovic in three sets to join compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round after the 19th seed beat Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 6-2 6-7 6-4.
Seventh seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland beat Melinda Czink of Hungary 6-3 6-3 while Italian 10th seed Flavia Pennetta dispatched Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-4 6-0.