London: Roger Federer caused a stir when he began his quest for a ninth Wimbledon title with a new logo on his chest but everything else looked familiar as he crushed Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 in glorious Centre Court sunshine Monday at Wimbledon.
The 36-year-old’s whites were missing the usual swish and the familiar RF emblem were gone after the 20-time Grand Slam champion ditched long-term kit supplier Nike in favour of Japan’s Uniqlo brand.
The top seed’s new sponsor only got 79 minutes of airtime as Federer began in stunning fashion – dashing off the first set in 20 minutes – and never looking remotely troubled as he sauntered into the second round. “I felt very good from the start which is nice,” Federer said. “Felt at home right away. Got the early break in each set and I was able to bring it home.”
Other winners on the day included third seed Marin Cilic and 11th seed Sam Querrey who both registered easy wins. Cilic disposed of Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 while Querrey dumped Jordan Thompson of Australia 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. India’s Yuki Bhambri’s challenge ended with a 6-2, 3-6, 2-6, 3-6 defeat to Thomas Fabbiano of Italy.
In the women’s singles Sloane Stephens became Wimbledon’s first big-name casualty this year as the World No.4 crashed to a shock 1-6, 3-6 defeat against Croatia’s Donna Vekic on Monday.
In other women’s event matches, there were wins for Czech seventh seed Karolina Pliskova who beat Harriet Dart 7-6(7-2), 2-6, 6-1 and 10th seeded American Madison Keys, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia. However, 2017 semifinalist Magdalena Rybarikova lost 5-7, 3-6 to Sorana Cirstea.