Smooth progress for Federer

Roger Federer steered clear of trouble as he cruised to a straight-sets first-round Wimbledon victory over Mikhail Kukushkin from Kazakhstan.

Federer, the six-times champion, had to fight back from two sets down against Alejandro Falla at the same stage last year, but after a closely contested opening he rarely looked troubled today as he completed a 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 6-2 victory.