Seven-time champion Roger Federer and world number one Rafael Nadal moved into the second round of Wimbledon by registering contrasting victories in their opening encounters on Tuesday at the All England Club.
Federer took just one hour and 33 minutes to outclass Paolo Lorenzi of Italy in straight sets. The Swiss maestro racked up 40 winners and committed just 20 unforced errors en route to a 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 win over the 32-year-old.
In the next round the 17-time major winner will face Gilles Muller of Luxemburg, who defeated Julien Benneteau 6-4, 7-6(6), 7-6(5) in a hard-fought match.
"It was a solid match overall," said Federer. "I served well, returned well, also tried to come forward a bit. I could really do everything out there, so I'm very pleased with the first round."
Meanwhile, second-seed Nadal faced a tricky opening encounter against Martin Klizan of Slovakia. The Spaniard, after losing the opening set, brushed aside the hiccups and won the next three sets 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to book a Wimbledon rematch with Lukas Rosol in the second round.
Klizan was brimming with confidence after winning the first set and was neck and neck with the two-time winner. However, Nadal won 76 per cent points on his first serve, compared to just the 48 per cent won by the Slovak, which made the difference in the end.
"When you go on court and you lost last year in the first round and the year before in the second round... it stays in your mind," Nadal said. "I was able to fight. I was able to try to find some solutions, some changes during the match."
"I try my best in every moment," he explained. "If I lose the first set, I try to win the second. If I win the second, I try to win the third and then the fourth."
In another match, Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka put his French Open miseries behind and defeated Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. The fifth-seeded Wawrinka fired 34 winners and 18 aces on his way to a straight sets victory.
"I'm really happy," said Wawrinka. "Today was a good match. It's never easy, the first round in a Grand Slam. But I was quite focused, serving well and confident with my game. I've been practising well for two weeks now, since before Queen's. So it's a perfect start."
Japanese Kei Nishikori fought his way into the second round with a 6-4, 7-6(5), 7-5 victory over Kenny de Schepper. In Round 2, he will face Denis Kudla, who battled past Marsel Ilhan 7-6(3), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
However, India's numero uno singles player Somdev Devvarman suffered an early exit at the All England Club, when he was defeated by the much higher-ranked Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6.
Meanwhile, top-seeded Serena Williams and former champion Maria Sharapova have advanced to the second round, while the seventh-seeded Jelena Jankovic is out of the tournament.
