"I fought as hard as I possibly could and I thought I gave a really good performance.

"Obviously I’m a bit disappointed because obviously I would love to have won. I definitely think the experience was probably the key factor at the end of the match. She’s seven in the world for a reason."

Stoop also claimed this week’s results do not reflect the general state of the British game.

"I think everyone comes into Wimbledon with these expectations but I think this year’s been an unbelievable year for the women especially," she said.

"I have learnt that I can compete with the highest girls. It’s been an amazing experience for me. I feel that there’s not that big a difference. I think one massive thing is the experience."

O’Brien missed a glorious chance to reach the second round for the second time when she lost a marathon match to Iveta Benesova, of the Czech Republic.

The 23-year-old from Yorkshire, playing her third grand slam event of the year, led 3-1 in the deciding set but lost her temper and the match as the world number 35 prevailed 6-2 5-7 6-4 in a match that lasted six minutes over two hours in the blazing sunshine.

"I probably had more chances but she took the ones that she had," said O’Brien. "She played better on the more important points."

Evans produced a spirited display on his Wimbledon debut but still lost in straight sets to Nikolay Davydenko, the 12th-seeded Russian.

Evans, 19, from Warwickshire, who is ranked 305 in the world, was beaten 6-2 6-3 6-3 by the former world number three but provided some thrills and spills for the sun-baked crowd on Court Four, even if it was Davydenko who inevitably won the big points.

"If you look at it on paper, it’s horrible for me but I think I did well out there," Evans said.

"He makes the same errors as I make, he just doesn’t do as many. In a way, it’s good what happened today. Obviously I lost, which is not good, but it’s good to find out what the level