Returning to his favorite stage and resuming his dominant ways on grass, Roger Federer started his bid for a sixth straight Wimbledon title yesterday by sweeping Dominik Hrbaty in straight sets on a sunbathed Centre Court in London.
In keeping with tradition, Federer had the honor of opening play on the main stadium court as defending champion at the 122nd Wimbledon championships. He seemed right at home as he beat Hrbaty 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 for his 60th straight grasscourt win and 35th consecutive victory at the All England Club.
"I played well. It was a good match against a good friend of mine," Federer said. "I was consistent all the way throughout. I didn't have to face a break point. It's good, but never easy to open Center Court, but it's a real honor."
Just a few minutes before Federer closed out his match, two-time women's champion Serena Williams completed a harder-than-expected 7-5, 6-3 win on Court 1 over Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.
Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic started her Wimbledon campaign with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Rossana de Los Rios, her first match since winning the French Open title.
The 20-year-old Serbian player never faced a breakpoint in the second match on Centre Court following Federer's victory and converted on two-thirds of her six opportunities against de Los Rios' serve.
Ivanovic, a semifinalist here last year, ascended to No. 1 in the rankings by winning her first major at Roland Garros earlier this month.
Federer, who loves the traditions of the game, walked onto Centre Court at 1pm in retro fashion -- donning a herringbone-pattern, four-button cardigan with gold trim and a stylized F on a badge on his left chest. The insignia on the buttons represent his five Wimbledon titles.
Federer warmed up wearing the cardigan for a few minutes, then took it off and got down to business.
He won the first 11 points of the match, setting the tone for a trouble-free, one-sided match.
The 30-year-old Hrbaty, playing his 12th Wimbledon, had beaten Federer in their only two previous meetings in 2000 and 2004. But the Slovakian player, who had elbow surgery last year, has slipped to No. 273 in the rankings and had won only two matches this year on the top-tier tour.
There were some light moments in the match. In the sixth game of the first set, Hrbaty ran down a lob and, with his back to the net, flipped a reverse shot down the line past a startled Federer. As Hrbaty ran across the court with hands raised in celebration, Federer smiled and clapped his racket.
In the final changeover at 5-2 in the third set, Hrbaty, realizing it could be his last time on Centre Court sat in a chair alongside Federer and the two chatted and laughed. Federer then went out and held serve to finish the match.
On Court 1, Williams made a fashion statement of her own. She came on wearing a white belted, thigh-length raincoat or Mackintosh. But there was no rain in sight, so she hung the jacket on her chair. Kanepi, meanwhile, wore dark sunglasses throughout the match.
China had a mixed day with Zheng Jie springing a surprise in beating Dominika Cibulkova, the 30th seed from Slovakia, 6-4, 6-3 and Li Na rallied to oust Russia's Anastasia Rodionova 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 but Meng Yuan lost to Nathalie Dechy of France 7-6 (7), 3-6, 0-6.
In another upset, Evgeniya Rodina of Russia beat 27th seed Virginie Razzano of France 0-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Among the men's seeds to advance were: 10th seed Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, seeded 15th, Spain's 21st seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, his compatriot Feliciano Lopez, the 31st seed, and Italy's 29th seed Andreas Seppi.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily June 24, 2008)