Tennis
ESPN News Services 6y

Roger Federer dominant in Wimbledon opener

Tennis, ATP

LONDON -- New look, same old dominance for Roger Federer at Wimbledon.

The eight-time champion began his title defense in style at the All England Club, brushing aside Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 in 79 minutes on Centre Court.

Lajovic held serve in the opening game but that was as good as it got for the 58th-ranked Serb. Federer reeled off the next nine games to take charge and was in cruise control for the rest of the match.

Federer, 36, never faced a break point and showed off the full repertoire of shots that has made him the most successful male player at Wimbledon.

The only things unfamiliar about Federer were his clothes. He wore a Uniqlo outfit for the first time after ending his careerlong apparel partnership with Nike. It clearly had no adverse effect on his game.

"Felt right at home again, so that was a really nice feeling," he said. "I got the early break in each set and then was able to bring it home. I'm really happy with my focus as well, point-for-point mentality."

Federer is looking for a record-extending ninth title at the All England Club but only needed to step onto the court to create a bit more history. He is the first man in the Open era to play in the grass-court Grand Slam for a 20th straight year.

Before stepping off the court, he gave his headband to a young female fan in the crowd -- and joked he could be giving away a lot more before the fortnight is over.

The girl had held up a sign saying, "Can I have your headband pleeease!!" A postmatch interviewer pointed out that Federer could expect more requests in coming matches after fulfilling her wishes.

And he's apparently ready to oblige.

"Yes, they want a watch, a car, a racket, a shirt, they can have it all at this point," Federer said.

Stan Wawrinka defeated sixth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-4 to claim just his second Grand Slam victory since last year's Wimbledon. Dimitrov lost for the first time in the opening round at Wimbledon since 2009, when he made his debut.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka missed the second half of 2017 after knee surgery and has struggled to regain form since returning at the Australian Open in January.

Having been forced to take another three-month break at the end of February, Wawrinka's ranking had fallen to 225 coming into Wimbledon. 

Wawrinka, who has twice reached the quarterfinals at the All England Club, will next face Thomas Fabbiano of Italy.

Last year's runner-up, Marin Cilic, also advanced easily with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over Japanese player Yoshihito Nishioka.

The third-seeded Croatian hit 21 aces and a total of 44 winners -- compared to one ace and six winners for Nishioka -- to complete victory in 1 hour, 46 minutes.

Gael Monfils is through to the second round of Wimbledon after defeating fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet 7-6 (6), 7-5, 6-4. The pair became the first French duo to meet at all four Grand Slam events in the half-century Open era.

The Americans had a strong outing on Day 1. Sam Querrey, who lost to Cilic in the semifinals last year, had a similarly comfortable start as he beat Jordan Thompson of Australia 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. John Isner defeated Yannick Maden in three sets and unseeded Americans Mackenzie McDonald and Jared Donaldson also advanced.

France's Lucas Pouille defeated American Denis Kudla, however, in four sets. Michael Mmoh also lost his opening round match against unseeded Gilles Muller.

No. 16 seed Borna Coric became the highest-seeded male to exit Wimbledon on Day 1 when he lost 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-2 to Daniil Medvedev.

The 21-year-old Coric's exit has simplified eight-time champion Federer's expected path to the later stages.

Having defeated Federer eight days earlier to claim the title in Halle, the 16th-seeded Croat had been scheduled for a third-round meeting with the reigning champion at the All England Club.

Medvedev ensured there would be no rematch as he saved a set point on his way to taking a close-fought opener via a tiebreak before cruising to victory in just short of two hours. The 22-year-old Russian next faces Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain.

Eighth-seeded Kevin Anderson cruised in three sets. Thirteenth-seeded Milos Raonic is also through to the second round after a comfortable 7-5, 6-0, 6-1 victory over British wildcard Liam Broady. The 2016 runner-up next plays Australian John Millman or Stefano Travaglia of Italy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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