Federer advances with ease

Roger Federer took advantage of a welcome spell of dry weather to make a successful start to his bid for a fifth straight Wimbledon title on Monday.

Rain delayed the start of play at the All England Club by almost three hours, Federer eventually beginning his first-round clash with Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili at 2.43pm.

The world number one emerged onto Centre Court in long trousers and white jacket, and could probably have won without taking them off as he cruised to a 6-3 6-2 6-4 victory in just 92 minutes.

Gabashvili produced flashes of brilliance with a number of passing shots, but Federer broke his serve to love in the sixth game of the opening set and from then on it was one-way traffic.

Gabashvili's nickname is 'Tsunami' - not because of his destructive power but because he gets so nervous on court.

That had not been so apparent early on, but soon surfaced in the second set as a double fault in the opening game gifted Federer two break points.

The Swiss star duly took advantage and broke again in the fifth game to race into a 4-1 lead, and a sublime forehand lob which landed right on the baseline gave him three set points in game seven.

Gabashvili dug deep to save those and reduce his deficit, but Federer served out to take the set 6-2 and all but guarantee his place in the second round.

Dark clouds continued to hover over a Centre Court rendered almost unrecognisable without a roof, and Federer was no doubt keen to steal a march on his rivals and wrap up victory in case of any further delays.

The 25-year-old broke Gabashvili once again in the opening game of a third set noteworthy more for the first use of Hawk-Eye than the tennis itself.

Serving at 30-15, Gabashvili challenged a line call which ruled a Federer passing shot was in, but had the good grace to congratulate the female line judge for a correct decision when Hawk-Eye confirmed the ball had clipped the line.

To his credit, Gabashvili refused to concede defeat too readily, forcing a break point in the fourth game, but he was not able to convert it as Federer eventually did just enough to seal a routine victory and win number 49 in a row on grass.