News Story - Idaho State Journal

(MCT)

WIMBLEDON, England _ If Roger Federer is feeling any pressure to restore his reputation at Wimbledon this fortnight, he certainly didn't reveal it during his opening victory against Dominik Hrbaty on Monday afternoon.

The top-ranked Swiss looked like he was strolling to his back yard for a picnic as he walked onto the Center Court lawn in a cream-colored herringbone cardigan, which was hardly necessary on this warm and sunny afternoon. Incidentally, 230 of the sweaters are for sale, one for each week Federer has been ranked No. 1.

He was at ease once he shed the sweater, going up 3-0 in six minutes and winning 11 straight points. Federer needed just an hour and 19 minutes to beat Hrbaty 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

The closest Hrbaty got to the five-time Wimbledon champion was during the final changeover, when Hrbaty chose to sit next to Federer and share a friendly chat rather than spend the break on his side of the net. The audience chuckled and snapped photographs as the former doubles partners and good friends enjoyed a rare, impromptu moment in a place known for its strict rules.

"I looked over and there he was," Federer explained, smiling. "He asked if he could sit next to me. I said, 'Sure.' We go way back. He always said if I beat him in practice I'd probably be No. 1 in the world. That's exactly how it went. We've always had good fun together. He said it might be his last Wimbledon, so it was almost a little bit emotional. It was nice to share that moment on Center Court together."

Federer has not won a major tournament all year and suffered his most lopsided Grand Slam loss to Rafael Nadal in the French Open final, but he insisted his confidence is not shaken. His win Monday was his 60th straight on grass and 35th in a row at Wimbledon.

"I haven't been reading, and haven't been listening to what has been said, so I haven't been affected," he said. "I was walking in there as defending champion, trying to defend the title again. That's all that mattered to me... . Every time you walk out it's beautiful. The grass is perfect. It felt very special again."

Just as Federer walked off the court, two-time women's champion Serena Williams was finishing off Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 7-5, 6-3 on Court 1. Like Federer, Williams made a fashion statement that wasn't quite weather-appropriate. She warmed up in a white thigh-length trench coat, complete with buckles on the wrists and a wide buckled belt.

"I absolutely love trench coats," Williams said. "I'm always buying Burberry coats. And I don't know why, because I live in Florida. It doesn't really add up. Now, I have a wonderful white coat I can wear on the court and in New York for those rainy days. It's definitely not athletic attire, but it's ladylike, and I'm very ladylike. It goes perfect with my personality and everything else. It's perfect for me."

Williams took a while to find her rhythm. The match was tied 5-all in the first set with a breakpoint against the American. But she hung on, and had little trouble in the second set.

"That point was huge," she said. "I kept thinking, 'I can't lose serve.' She was playing unbelievable. I felt like she wasn't making any errors. I just had to hang in there and stay positive. It definitely was not an easy match."

She said she plans to go deep into the tournament. One incentive is that she is in no hurry to return to the South Florida heat and humidity.

"When (she and sister, Venus) go home after the French and practice in the hot sun, we are so ready to leave Florida," she said. "We're like, 'We're going to do anything we can to stay at the tournament as long as we can so we don't have to go back to that heat. That's pretty much our preparation."

French Open champion and top-ranked Ana Ivanovic cruised past Rossana De Los Rios 6-1, 6-2. Third-ranked Novak Djokovic dropped the second set, but rallied to beat Michael Berrer 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.

"It's not easy, playing on the Center Court, almost full stadium, a lot of expectations," Djokovic said. "Most of the first matches are the trickiest one. I'm happy to get through."

Other Top 10 seeds who advanced include Marcos Baghdatis, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anna Chakvetadze, and David Ferrer. Seventh seed David Nalbandian of Argentina, a 2002 finalist, was eliminated in straight sets by 98th-ranked Canadian Frank Dancevic.

Americans had mixed results. Robby Ginepri, Sam Querrey, Ashley Harkleroad, and Vince Spadea lost. Spadea battled five sets but couldn't get past Thomas Johansson. Bobby Reynolds and Bethanie Mattek won.

(c) 2008, The Miami Herald.

Visit The Miami Herald Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.herald.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

This document was originally published online on Tuesday, June 24, 2008

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