TEMPO.CO, London - When Roger Federer's game flows at Wimbledon and his opponent knows his place you half expect him to slide into a deckchair at changeovers, pour cream on to some strawberries and tuck in.
It was like that on Centre Court on Tuesday as the King of Cool began his quest for an eighth title at the All England Club with a nonchalant dismantling of Bosnia's Damir Dzumhur.
With the mercury soaring into the high 80s Fahrenheit as London prepares for a heatwave, spectators were spared the full glare of the mid-afternoon sun thanks to the welcome shade offered by the partly-extended roof.
For 88th-ranked Dzumhur there was no escape from the dazzling shot-making of the Swiss maestro who won 6-1 6-3 6-3.
It was a similar story earlier as reigning women's champion Petra Kvitova scorched the grass with some searing serves in a 35-minute demolition of Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens.
She dropped only one point on serve in a commanding first-round show of force that augurs well for her chances of repeating her title charge of 12 months ago when she blew Eugenie Bouchard away in a one-sided final.
German 10th seed Angelique Kerber also caught fire, thrashing compatriot Carina Witthoeft 6-0 6-0 to record the third so-called 'double bagel' in the women's singles so far, the most since 1996.
It was not all one-way traffic for fancied players though.
Third seed Simona Halep checked out 5-7 6-4 6-3 in round one against 106th-ranked Slovakian Jana Cepelova to become the highest-profile casualty so far.
Last year's runner-up Bouchard's fall from grace continued as she was bundled out by China's Duan Yingying.
REUTERS
