Madison Keys recovered from early stage fright to begin the defence of her Australian Open title in winning fashion.
The American claimed a long-sought-after first grand slam victory here 12 months ago, beating Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka on Rod Laver Arena, but returning to the same court against Ukrainian debutante Oleksandra Oliynykova threatened to turn into a nightmare.
Keys lost the opening four games, clawed her way back to a tie-break and had to save two set points before finally relaxing and pulling away to win 7-6 (8-6) 6-1.
"The moment they say, 'Ready, play', it kind of all hits you in a way that I don't think you can ever really explain to someone," said a relieved Keys afterwards.
"But, as nerve-racking and as stressful as that can be, I'm still reminding myself of just how few people get to be in that moment, and being able to walk out today and have the crowd be as welcoming as they were, I'll take the stress any day."
Although she could not pull off the upset, it was a moment of immense pride for 25-year-old Oliynykova, who made her mark for more than just her temporary facial tattoos.
She has risen rapidly up the rankings and revealed she takes inspiration from her father, who is fighting for Ukraine in the country's war with Russia.
"I'm so proud of him," she said. "Actually, this is something that is keeping me motivated even more. After he joined the military, I did progress for over 200 positions, because I know it was his dream to see me on this court."
Unlike most of her compatriots, Oliynykova still lives and trains in Ukraine, with all the dangers that currently brings.
"During the preparations, I was hearing the explosions," she said. "There was a couple of massive attacks the last night I spent in Ukraine before the trip here."
Two-times Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka dug deep to overcome Croatian Antonia Ruzic 6-3 3-6 6-4.
Russian-born Daria Kasatkina, who switched nationality to Australia in March, crashed out after a 7-6 (9-7) 0-6 6-3 loss to Czech Nikola Bartunkova.
Wildcard Taylah Preston gave home fans something to cheer by beating China's Zhang Shuai 6-3 2-6 6-3 for her first grand slam match win but Maya Joint was unable to join her in the second round, Australia's number one losing 6-4 6-4 to Tereza Valentova.
Former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez also exited after the 22nd seed lost 6-2 7-6 (7-1) to Janice Tjen, who became the first Indonesian to win a match at the Australian Open in 28 years.
Elena Rybakina impressed in her 6-4 6-3 victory over Kaja Juvan in a match that lasted just 72 minutes, firing 22 winners past the Slovenian.
Emma Raducanu will carry British hopes alone into the second round after Katie Boulter was beaten 6-0 7-5 by Belinda Bencic.
