Federer dazzles on centre stage

ROGER Federer began his attempt to lift a sixth consecutive Wimbledon crown with a fashion statement when he walked on to Centre Court in brilliant sunshine wearing a cashmere cardigan.

Just one hour and 19 minutes later he had made a much more significant statement, however, with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory against Dominik Hrbaty, the perfect answer to those who suggested his game was beginning to unravel.

Following his straight sets humiliation against Rafael Nadal at the French Open, experts including Bjorn Borg had predicted Federer’s Wimbledon reign would come to an end.

But this first-round encounter was not so much a victory as a demolition against an opponent who was once number 12 in the world but whose career has been derailed by injury.

Nevertheless, Federer expressed relief at clearing the first hurdle in the quest to equal William Renshaw’s record of six consecutive singles titles in SW19 between 1881-86.

He said: “It’s great because I did feel all of a sudden like a little bit of pressure about two minutes before I went on court. I felt like, ‘Wow, okay, here we go. Let’s get off to a good start’.

“I did. I don’t think I dropped a point in the first few games. That put away the pressure and I could just concentrate on trying to play well.”

Meanwhile, former semi-finalist Marcos Baghdatis was delighted to get back on the grass of Wimbledon as he booked his place in the second round with victory over Belgium’s Steve Darcis. Baghdatis, who reached the quarter-finals last year and the last four in 2006, won 6-3 6-2 6-7 (5/7) 6-3 on court two and will face former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson in the last 64.

“It feels good to be playing back here,” said the popular 23-year-old Cypriot. “To be playing on grass it feels very good, for sure. It’s one of my favourite surfaces, if not my favourite.”

Third seed Novak Djokovic overcame a second-set slump to beat Germany’s Michael Berrer 7-5 2-6 6-3 6-0 on centre court. The Australian Open champion battled through a tight opening set but then lost five games in a row in the second as Berrer belied his lowly status.

However, the 21-year-old Serbian finally got to grips with Berrer’s game to rattle through the last two sets and book his place in the second round.

Meanwhile fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova narrowly survived becoming the biggest women’s casualty on the opening day of Wimbledon as she battled back from a set and a break down to beat Mathilde Johansson of France.

The former US Open champion was pushed to the limit by qualifier Johansson, the world number 124 who has never gone beyond the second round of a grand slam in seven attempts, before clawing a 6-7 (5/7) 7-5 6-3 victory.

Last year’s quarter-finalist Nicole Vaidisova, seeded 18, is also through after making short work of Zuzana Ondraskova 6-2 6-2, but a number of seeds were not so fortunate on the opening day. Patty Schnyder, the 12th seed who reached the fourth round last year, was beaten 6-4 3-6 6-1 by Australia’s Casey Dellacqua and 19th seed Maria Kirilenko lost 6-3 6-3 to Vera Dushevina.

The 27th seed Virginie Razzano and 30th seed Dominika Cibulkova also went down, while the youngest player in the women’s draw, 16-year-old qualifier Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, scored a memorable 7-6 (8/6) 7-6 (7/4) win over 17th seed Alize Cornet.