Johanna Konta described herself as being in a “state of shock” as she began to come to terms with being forced to retire from her Australian Open first-round match against Kaja Juvan after picking up an abdominal injury early in the first set. Konta was leading 6-4, 0-2 when she decided to call for the trainer. According to Konta, the pain began earlier in the first set and her discomfort increased as the match wore on. It eventually became impossible to ignore. This was just the third time she has retired from the main draw of a tour-level event and the first time from a slam. For Konta, and others exiting early, the feeling of disappointment is bound to be amplified after the effort it has taken to play in the tournament. “I don’t really know what to make of it yet,” the No 12 seed said. “Because it’s happened so recently I feel in a bit of state of shock, almost like having an out-of-body experience. “I have very little experience with acute injuries on court and having to withdraw.” The departure of Konta tied up yet another tepid day for the British players as only two made it to the second round in Melbourne. That includes the winner of an all-British match when Cameron Norrie overcame the national No 1, Dan Evans, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. While the pair had never before played each other in competition, their recently completed exhibition matches had all been won by Norrie, reflecting a favourable match-up for the New Zealand-raised player. Norrie capably pinned Evans in his backhand corner with his heavy topspin forehand and he drained Evans’s remaining energy in the longer exchanges. Evans’s Murray River Open victory on Sunday became a thorn in his side two days later. Evans said: “I just found it tough to come back. I was a bit flat after I went on Sunday, I just felt pretty flat ever since really. I didn’t practice great yesterday.” Heather Watson was the only British female player to survive the first round. She did so by beating Kristyna Pliskova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3), her first victory at a grand slam since last year’s Australian Open, when she defeated the same player. However, Watson’s first-round feat was a world away from last year’s success. She was one of the players sequestered in hard lockdown and she spoke in impressive depth about the effects of the hard quarantine on her body. She had felt her fitness wane, her body was extremely sore on resuming regular practice and she suffered a spasm in her left leg that left her questioning whether she would be able to play. “Yesterday is the first day of practice where I felt like my game was starting to come back together,” she said. “I was like: ‘OK, I found the timing.’ Yesterday was pretty much the first day. “Having a Tuesday start was big, so I got lucky there.” For Francesca Jones, this will be a moment to remember but also one to move on from. She carried herself well in her 6-4, 6-1 loss to the world No 57, Shelby Rogers, staying with her in the first set before the match shifted after a questionable call. While Jones’s topspin forehand showed its potency at this level, her first tussle with a top-100 player in grand slams demonstrated the work that remains for her to continue to improve. “This is the pinnacle, one of the four pinnacles of the year, but I know where I’m coming from and I know where I’m going to,” she said. “It would be great to continue playing grand slams every week of the year, but it’s also unrealistic. So for me, back to work, back to giving it everything every day, and I hope you guys see me soon, but in the meantime I will just be knocking away at whatever door is next.”