Wimbledon: British No. 3 Kyle Edmund faces 1st round exit.

LONDON: Home hopes took an early beating with British number three Kyle Edmund going down 6-2 7-5 6-4 at Wimbledon on Monday to Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

The 21-year-old, ranked 68th in the world, gave the Court Two crowd in the sunshine only a few moments to really cheer on as his touch and accuracy faltered against the left-handed world number 55.

Edmund is one of six British men in action on the tournament`s opening day, with 2013 champion and second seed Andy Murray getting under way on Tuesday against another Briton, Liam Broady.

British wildcard James Ward had the honour of opening the Centre Court action - but with defending champion and world number one Novak Djokovic on the other side of the net, it will be a big ask to reach the second round.