Tuesday 30 June 2015 15:37, UK
Defending champion Novak Djokovic moved confidently into the second round of Wimbledon with a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win over German Philipp Kohlschreiber on Monday.
With no competitive matches in the build-up to the championships after his French Open final loss, Djokovic, on paper at least, had a dangerous opponent in the 33rd-ranked Kohlschreiber.
But the 28-year-old Serbian was clinical on the big points and never looked like becoming the first defending champion to fall in the first round since 2003.
He broke in the 10th game of the opener and squeezed the throttle at the same stage of the second, securing a two-set lead with backhand winner and a roar of delight.Top seed Djokovic cruised through the third set.
"This is the cradle of our sport, it doesn't get any bigger than Wimbledon Centre Court and it's an honour to be defending champion," he told the BBC.
"I had a tough opponent, he can be very tricky especially on the grass but I stayed composed."
French Open champion Stan Wawrinka is also into the second round at Wimbledon. The fourth-seeded Swiss beat Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-2 7-5 7-6 (7-3) in his opening match, played on Centre Court.
Wawrinka has never made it past the quarterfinals at the All England Club, but he won the Australian Open in 2014 and added another major title at Roland Garros this year.
Elsewhere on day one, Australia's Nick Kyrgios reminded Wimbledon fans of the destructive weapons that shook up the tournament last year by powering into the second round with a straight-sets demolition of Diego Schwartzman.
A year after the towering Australian stunned then world No 1 Rafa Nadal to become the first man to reach the last eight on his Wimbledon debut since 2004, he cranked up the firecracker forehand to crush Argentine Schwartzman 6-0 6-2 7-6 (8-6).
Kyrgios tore through the first set in 17 minutes, eased through the second and, after suffering a brief wobble in the third, sealed victory in a close-fought tiebreaker.
The Australian was involved in a controversial incident when, in a heated discussion with the umpire over a line call, he was heard shouting out "dirty scum".
Lleyton Hewitt's Wimbledon farewell ended in an agonising defeat as Finland's Jarkko Nieminen out-lasted the 2002 champion 3-6 6-3 4-6 6-0 11-9 in a thrilling first round clash.
Hewitt is embarking on a prolonged goodbye tour before retiring after next year's Australian Open and he was hoping for one last hurrah on his 17th and final visit to the All England Club.
But, despite saving three match points, the 34-year-old Australian eventually succumbed in exactly four hours of gruelling drama in the baking temperatures on Court Two.
Nieminen, also playing in his final Wimbledon, will Djokovic in the second round.
Japan's fifth seed Kei Nishikori overcame an injury scare to reach the Wimbledon second round on Monday with a gruelling 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 3-6 6-3 win over Italy's Simone Bolelli.
Nishikori, who needed his left leg strapped in the final set, will face Santiago Giraldo of Colombia for a place in the last 32.
Germany's Tommy Haas became the oldest winner of a men's singles match since Jimmy Connors 24 years ago as he saw off Serbian Dusan Lajovic.
Haas, who turned 37 in April, reached the semi-finals in 2009 and was initially declared by the International Tennis Federation to be the oldest men's Wimbledon winner since American Marty Riessen in 1979, at which point he Tweeted: "Love that :)"
The ITF corrected itself, acknowledging Connors' wins over Veli Paloheimo and Aaron Krickstein in 1991, prompting Haas to add: "Still love it :)"
Selected other men's first round results:
(27) Bernard Tomic (Aus) bt Jan-Lennard Struff (Ger) 6-3 3-6 2-6 6-2 6-3
Tommy Haas (Ger) bt Dusan Lajovic (Ser) 6-2 6-3 4-6 6-2 (7-4)
(24) Leonardo Mayer (Arg) bt Thanasi Kokkinakis (Aus) 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4
(14) Kevin Anderson (Rsa) bt Lucas Pouille (Fra) 6-2 7-5 3-6 6-3
(21) Richard Gasquet (Fra) bt Luke Saville (Aus) 6-3 6-2 6-2
(16) David Goffin (Bel) bt Horacio Zeballos (Arg) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 6-1
Fernando Verdasco (Spa) bt Martin Klizan (Svk) 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 13-11
(7) Milos Raonic (Can) bt Daniel Gimeno-Traver (Spa) 6-2 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-4)
