World number one Jannik Sinner eased effortlessly into the second round at Wimbledon, as neither the stifling heat nor fellow Italian Luca Nardi could knock him out of his comfort zone in a 6-4 6-3 6-0 victory on Tuesday.
Returning to the Grand Slam stage for the first time since his epic French Open final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz, the three- times major winner had a much less testing workout against world number 95 Nardi.
His compatriot had spoken in the past about learning from Sinner but this was a lesson in the differences between the best and the rest.
Sinner was bigger, stronger, faster, hit the ball harder and served better, and although Nardi did his best to hang on to his coat tails in the first two sets, his compatriot was simply too good.
Sinner's pressure was relentless, and Nardi did well to save four break points in the first set before eventually crumbling under an increasingly hostile assault in the 10th game.
A stunning forehand winner brought up another two break points for Sinner and while the first went begging, there was no further reprieve for the 21-year-old.
If anything was going to unsettle Sinner it was the fierce heat on Court One as Wimbledon basked in the second day of a punishing heat wave, but with ice-packed towels draped around his neck at each change-over, the world number one never looked like losing his cool.
He eased through the second set in cruise control after breaking for a 2-0 lead, conceding only a handful of points on serve as Nardi's efforts looked increasingly forlorn.
The motorbike-loving Nardi had no answer as Sinner went full throttle through the final set, breaking in the opening game and twice more before clinching victory with a service winner.
Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic was made to work hard after a strong start as he began his bid for a 25th Grand Slam title by beating unseeded Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-1 6-7(7) 6-2 6-2 to reach the second round.
The sixth seed, who is aiming to equal Roger Federer's haul at the All England Club and move past Margaret Court in the all-time list of major champions, will take on British wild card Dan Evans in the next round.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I have a chance, to be honest," Djokovic said.
"I think I always have a chance, I've earned my right to feel I can go all the way to the title. I've had arguably the most success of any Grand Slam here in the last decade.
"It's just the beginning of the tournament. There are many fantastic players in the draw. I'm going to be playing a Briton in the next round. That's going to be a tough one, but I look forward to it.
"I've always felt like grass, particularly in the second part of my career, was really the surface where I played my best tennis, so why not do it again?"
Djokovic, who endured a poor year before lifting his 100th tour-level trophy in Geneva ahead of a run to the semi-finals of the French Open, powered through the opening set against Muller by winning six games on the trot.
Muller put up much more of a fight in the next set, saving five breakpoints to hold for 4-4 before forcing a tiebreak where he raised his game again to battle from 2-5 down and draw level in the match.
Djokovic caught his breath when the Centre Court roof was closed and then took a medical timeout early in the third set for a stomach problem, before going up 3-2 with a break after Muller hit his sixth double fault of the match.
Having wrapped up the third set, Djokovic racked up a 4-2 advantage in the fourth set with an exquisite backhand winner and there was no looking back from there as he completed the victory by holding to love.
Alexander Zverev became the highest men's seed to fall in a brutal first round for top players as the German lost a five-set marathon to France's Arthur Rinderknech.
Third seed Zverev and Rinderknech were locked at one set apiece on Monday when play was stopped, but after the resumption on a sultry Centre Court the Frenchman ground out a 7-6(3) 6-7(8) 6-3 6-7(5) 6-4 victory.
It was Zverev's first opening round defeat at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2019 and leaves him still searching for a first major after 38 attempts.
Rinderknech will face Chilean Lucky Loser Cristian Garin in round two.
Zverev's defeat means 12 of the 32 men's seeds have failed to reach the second round.
Earlier, last year's semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti was also dumped out by inspired Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Seventh seed Musetti, playing his first match since retiring in the French Open semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz with a leg injury, never looked settled against the world number 126 and went down 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-1 on a muggy Court Two.
"Really bad day at the office, I came here at the last minute and of course I didn't have much good feelings with my game and honestly the physical side and energy and whatever it takes to play a match like this," he said.
"I was struggling to feel comfortable on the court from the beginning, I was really losing focus and was not really reactive on the ball. Today felt like I had never played on this surface."
The 23-year-old recovered from a slow start to level the match but Basilashvili, a former top-20 player, raised his game at the end of the third set, breaking serve at 5-6 by winning a stunning rally with a volley into the open court.
Musetti's resistance withered in a 23-minute fourth set as the 33-year-old Basilashvili earned his first win in a Grand Slam since reaching the Wimbledon third round in 2022 and the first over a top-10 ranked player in a Grand Slam.
Musetti's limp exit means 10 men's seeds have already fallen before the conclusion of the first round.
Dark horse Alexander Bublik's bubble was burst when the Kazakh was dragged into a battle by Spaniard Jaume Munar and beaten 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2 on a piercingly hot day.
Bublik, fresh from capturing his second Halle title last month, cut a frustrated figure towards the end of a lacklustre opening set against Munar on Court 14 where he surrendered his serve two times and barely dipped into his bag of tricks.
Having swapped his headband for a cap to shield himself from the heat, Bublik appeared a player transformed in the next set as he quickly found his range and erased the deficit after forcing Munar into a backhand error on set point.
The big crowds braving conditions on the outside court to catch the Kazakh trickster had to settle for a more workmanlike display early in the third set as Bublik fought back from 1-3 down before offering glimpses of his drop-shot brilliance.
With his tail up after securing the third set, 28th seed Bublik raced ahead in the fourth and was serving for the match at 5-4 before Munar clawed back to make it two sets apiece via the tiebreak.
Munar capitalised from there as the world number 55 took control of the match with an early break in the decider and sent his opponent tumbling out with minimum fuss.
Britain's Jack Draper was handed the prime-time early evening slot to get his campaign up and running and spared his fans any edge-of-the-seat drama to ease past Argentina's injured Sebastian Baez in quick time.
A dominant Draper was leading 6-2 6-2 2-1 on a boiling Court One when Baez, who hurt his knee earlier in the contest when slipping on the baseline, decided enough was enough.
Home fans without court tickets had parked themselves on the sun-baked hill well ahead of world number four Draper's entrance, and it was all over in a flash.
Not that Draper, the highest British seed at Wimbledon since Andy Murray returned as defending champion in 2017, will care a jot that it will not go down as a Wimbledon classic.
He has been saddled with trying to fill the void left by the retirement of twice champion Murray, and preserving energy will be vital if Draper is to go deep in a tournament in which the spotlight will burn like no other.
Baez, ranked 38th in the world, looked like a tough opponent for the left-handed Draper. In reality it was a mismatch.
Draper's serving power and venomous forehand were too much for a player more suited to clay and the writing was on the wall for Baez when he dropped his opening service game.
The first set lasted only 25 minutes and towards the end of it the lightweight Baez slipped awkwardly when trying to change direction and early in the second required a lengthy check over from a doctor.
Had it been a boxing match the towel might have been thrown in by then as Draper was handing out some serious punishment.
Admirably Baez opted to carry on but the outcome was never in doubt and after he lost serve at the start of the third set he walked to the net and offered his hand.
Draper faces a much sterner test in round two with big-serving former runner-up Marin Cilic standing in his way.
American fifth seed Taylor Fritz defeated France's Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-7(6) 6-7(8) 6-4 7-6(6) 6-4 in a match suspended on Monday evening with the pair level at two sets each.
Frenchman Perricard left his mark on the Grand Slam with the fastest serve recorded in the tournament's history - a 153 mph (246 kph) missile against Fritz on Monday.
Australian James Fernandez McCabe, 21, whose father is Irish, was beaten in straight sets on his Wimbledon debut by Hungary's Fabian Marozsan.
James' father, Patrick McCabe, is originally from Greenhills, Walkinstown in Dublin.
