Tennis: Goran Ivanisevic's father, Srdjan, was asked about his son's inclusion in this year's championship. With his long lay-off from the game and irreparably damaged shoulder, it was agreed that the 2001 winner was not about to repeat his grand stand run again. So what was he doing here?

"He came to go," said Srdjan during one of the rain breaks. His son hadn't heard. The adieu is on ice and as kick-off time between England and Croatia in last night's European Championship match approached, Ivanisevic unearthed an unnatural energy to polish off his first-round Russian opponent Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 7-6, 6-2 in less that an hour and a half.

"Beautiful. It was the first time I walked on the centre court first round in my whole Wimbledon career," said Ivanisevic.

"The grass was very green, beautiful, nice. You cannot play bad on this court. Nervous, yes but you cannot play bad. I was thinking it would be nice to finish in three sets. But now I'm getting nervous, there is an hour and a half to go before kick-off. I have to thank the Wimbledon committee for the scheduling. Now I can watch the game."

For reigning champions, the first matches on centre court are occasionally cautious, fretful little cameos. Nerves ignite, the no-hoper opponent blows hot for the big occasion and the package for the titleholder becomes one of overwhelming queasiness.

For Roger Federer, his opponent, British wild-card Alex Bogdanovic, was zero for two attempts at previous Wimbledon tournaments and had warmed up for this year's event playing almost entirely on the Challenger and Futures circuit.

It is also a reasonable assumption to believe that local players, taken out of their normal uneventful tennis habitats and placed on centre court for the most important match of their year, turn to jelly. And so it was despite Bogdanovic's threat on the Federer serve twice in the second set.

Federer arrived from Halle, Holland, with a 15-match winning streak on grass. He alternatively feathered and battered his way past the 295-ranked Briton.

In Halles, which Federer won for the second year running, he did not drop a set in five matches, defeating American Mardy Fish in the final 6-0, 6-3. So he continued with his opponent falling 6-3, 6-3, 6-0.

"I'm playing well right now," said Federer ominously. "You know I don't have much doubt in my game. This is why I am very positive going into matches these days."

Lleyton Hewitt advanced 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 as Jurgen Melzer withered while last year's French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero also reached the safe ground of round two.

Guillermo Coria, the French Open finalist, looked like breaking his Wimbledon duck before opponent, South African Wesley Moodie, fought back in the fourth set for 2-2 before bad light stopped play.