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Defending champion Djokovic advances

Top-ranked player opens bid for sixth Grand Slam title

Image: Novak Djokovic Reuters
Novak Djokovic acknowledges the crowd after defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round Monday.

WIMBLEDON, England - There were no opening day troubles for top-ranked Novak Djokovic or six-time champion Roger Federer, who both enjoyed easy straight-set wins on a cloudy but dry start to the two-week grass court championships at Wimbledon on Monday.

John Isner and former runner-up Tomas Berdych weren't so lucky.

Defending champion Djokovic beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in the day's first match on Centre Court.

Wimbledon (June 22-July 8)
Image: Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Andy Murray of Britain in their men's final tennis match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London
Reuters
Magnificent 7th

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Federer, seeking his record-tying seventh Wimbledon crown, dropped only three games in trouncing Spain's Albert Ramos 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 on Court 1 — the first time since 2003 that he wasn't assigned to Centre Court for the opening round.

The highest seeded player to fall on Day 1 was No. 6 Tomas Berdych, the 2010 runner-up from the Czech Republic who lost in three straight tiebreakers to 87th-ranked Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. Gulbis, considered a potential top 10 player who never lived up to his potential, served 30 aces to win 7-6 (5) 7-6 (4) 7-6 (4), his first victory at a Grand Slam since the 2011 U.S. Open.

John Isner, the 11th-seded American, was upset in five sets by Alejandro Falla of Colombia, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5. Isner served 31 aces but was broken to end the contest, a result that ruled out another Wimbledon match between the American and Nicolas Mahut.

Isner beat the Frenchman in the longest match in tennis history here two years ago, an 11-hour, 5-minute marathon that ended 70-68 in the fifth set. Isner beat Mahut again last year in the first round, and the two could have met again this week in round two.

In keeping with tradition, the defending men's champ got the honor of opening play on Centre Court. Djokovic, bidding for a sixth Grand Slam title, was broken in his second service game as he slipped behind the baseline on break point and couldn't return the shot. But he held serve the rest of the way, losing only nine points on his first serve and finishing with 13 aces.

Ferrero, a 32-year-old Spaniard who won the French Open in 2003 and reached No. 1 in the world that year, was never able to mount a challenge on the fast surface.

Later, there was no bloodshed, no temper tantrum and no forfeit for David Nalbandian.

The result was still a loss, though, as the Argentine was outplayed by eighth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic in the opening round at Wimbledon, his first match since being disqualified for injuring a line judge during the Queen's Club final by kicking an advertisement board against his shin.

Nalbandian controlled his emotions on Monday, but still lost 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2 against the Serb.

The 2002 Wimbledon finalist said he felt good support from the crowd despite the incident at Queen's, and that "I think everybody understood (it) wasn't a good thing that I did, but was very unlucky as well."

Nalbandian was fined by the ATP and docked 150 ranking points for unsportsmanlike conduct.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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