Novak Djokovic beats Britain’s James Ward in his Wimbledon opener

Djokovic was forced to block out the noisy commotion moments later when Ward finally held serve to save his blushes. He also extended his Grand Slam winning streak to 29 matches in the process.

It looked as though defending champion Djokovic may not lose a game at all as he reeled off nine in a row against Great Britain’s James Ward, before the Londoner mounted a semblance of a comeback.

Bidding to win Wimbledon for a record eighth time, Federer would become the oldest man to triumph at the All England Club in the Open era and the oldest Grand Slam champion since Ken Rosewall in 1972 if he lifts the trophy in two weeks time. Muguruza broke for a 2-1 lead when Giorgi hit a forehand into the net.

The 22-year-old Spaniard, who lost in last year’s Wimbledon final to Serena Williams, said the tight contest would help her for the rest of the tournament. She said she plans to take time off and not play until the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August. “It puts me more into the tournament and gives me more confidence”.

In women’s singles, Samantha Jane Stosur, Venus Williams and Sabain Lisisci won their respective matches in the first round.

The sixth-seeded Raonic held a decided power edge over Busta in the 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4 victory.

“The first set had some hairy moments, down some set points, but that’s where experience kicked in… lots of it”, Williams said. It’s just an experience you don’t want to have again in a hurry.

Former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic blamed an injured right wrist for causing her problems during a surprising 6-2, 7-5 loss in Wimbledon’s first round against a qualifier ranked 223rd and making her Grand Slam debut.

Among the seeded men who advanced: No. 5 Kei Nishikori, No. 6 Milos Raonic, No. 9 Marin Cilic, No. 11 David Goffin, No. 13 David Ferrer, No. 16 Gilles Simon, No. 23 Ivo Karlovic and No. 27 Jack Sock.

Forty-six aces were sent down as Sam Querrey went the distance with Lukas Rosol, 33 of them from the American’s racket.

Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber was unable to match him and was the first seed to fall in the men’s draw on the opening day. Kevin Anderson, a South African seeded 20th, lost later in five sets to Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in a match that lasted more than 3½ hours.