Roger Federer, the Swiss world number one, started Wimbledon 2007’s rain-drenched opening day with an easy win over Teimuraz Gabashvili.
He saw off the unseeded Russian 6-3 6-2 6-4 in his pursuit for a fifth straight Wimbledon title, but his game wasn’t unflawed, largely due to his lay-off since losing in the French Open final.
Despite some rustiness, however, he was unthreatened on his own serve by the world number 86 and Gabashvili’s occasional patches of good play went unnoticed by the world’s top seed.
US third seed, Andy Roddick, also found success with a less convincing win over compatriot Justin Gimelstob on Court One.
After the first set ended at 6-1, it looked like the Queen’s Club champion was in for an easy win, but Gimelstob picked up his game, ending it 7-5 7-6 7-3.
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