Federer, Serena make early statements
LONDON - The clock on the new Centre Court scoreboard is digital, but the schedule remains the same. Yesterday at 1 p.m. sharp, the crowd began to applaud. Moments later, Roger Federer walked onto the meticulous rectangle of English lawn that he has made his own over the past five years, and another Wimbledon was under way.
As appropriate as the scene seemed, Federer was not appropriately dressed for his first-round match against his overmatched good friend, Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia. In his latest nod to Wimbledon's traditional bent, he took to Centre Court in a cashmere cardigan. It was a sartorial gesture that would have been better suited to more stereotypical English weather than yesterday's brilliant sunshine.
But Federer did not have to sweat for long in the midst of a season when he has had to sweat more than usual. Looking relaxed and on target from the start, he reeled off the first 11 points and won the first three games on his way to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win that would have been routine if not for the fact that he and Hrbaty broke the mold by sitting side by side on the final changeover in the third set.
It was Hrbaty's idea: a chance to keep it light for someone struggling mightily after elbow surgery and who, at age 30, might never play Wimbledon again.
"I looked over, and there he was," Federer said of his former doubles partner. "He asked if he could sit next to me. I said: 'Sure. There's no problem. There's an extra seat.' We go way back. You know, he taught me also a little bit how you're supposed to practice, because I was a little bit weak in the beginning of my career."
Those weaknesses have been corrected. Federer has grown into a superstar with 12 Grand Slam singles titles, including the last five Wimbledons. But Federer's game has been showing cracks lately, and it looked in need of urgent repair when he was obliterated in the French Open final by Rafael Nadal.
That was on clay, not Federer's beloved grass, but taking a fairer measure of his form will require tougher customers than Hrbaty, men perhaps closer in ability to Federer's second-round opponent Robin Soderling, a big-serving Swede. "Definitely not to underestimate," said Federer, who extended his grass-court winning streak to 60 matches, including 35 here.
Opening Day was one when it was best not to underestimate the opposition. Ivo Karlovic, the towering 18th seed from Croatia, is on most stars' short list of players they would least like to face on grass. Saturday, Karlovic successfully defended his title at the grass-court tuneup in Nottingham. But 48 hours later, he went down in the first round here against the qualifier Simon Stadler, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic made a convincing return to action in her first match since winning the French Open. Ivanovic defeated Rossana de los Rios, 6-1, 6-2. De los Rios, a 32-year-old mother ranked 103d, represented a much easier draw for Ivanovic than Kaia Kanepi represented for the two-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams.
"Today definitely was not an easy match," said Williams, a 7-5, 6-3 winner who walked onto Court 1 wearing a thigh-length white trench coat.
Despite Williams's victory, it was another in a series of dismal days for US tennis. The only American woman to join Williams in the second round was Bethanie Mattek, who rallied past Severine Bremond, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1. Ashley Harkleroad lost to 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo, 6-4, 6-3.
The lone US male to win was Bobby Reynolds, who advanced when Filippo Volandri retired because of a sore left knee after losing the first two sets. Eliminated were Vince Spadea, Kevin Kim, and 2008 Olympians Sam Querrey and Robby Ginepri.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
