Wimbledon Results- Day 1

The green pastures at the All England Club lightened up after a year off as the tennis season's 3rd Grand Slam tournament was in full swing on the 1st day of action. Unfortunately, Rafael Nadal could not walk onto the world renowned Center Court for the annual 1:00 pm men's champion match, but his absence was filled by 14 time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer, who cruised to victory over Yen-Hsun Lu. Also, I thought Federer's warm-up clothing, which included a military jacket an a vest that could be compred to that of a butlers. Following Fed on Center Court was Serena Williams, who didn't go overboard with her choice of clothing, surprisingly. Serena cruised in the 1st set, but fought off a tough effort from Neuza Silva in the 2nd to win in straights. Other ladies winners included Elena Dementieva, Victoria Azarenka, Nadia Petrova and Marion Bartoli, who served up a double bagel. Maria Sharapova, a popular pick to take the title behind a duo of sisters, won her match in 2 sets despite multiple tumbles on the slick grass. Dominika Cibulkova, Jie Zheng and Alisa Kleybanova were among other winners in womens action. The 4th men's seed, Novak Djokovic, prevailed through a difficult 1st round encounter with Julien Benneteau, who never ceases to amaze me with his odd hair colors. Benneteau may have a random blonde streak of hair parting both sides of his head, but that wasn't enough to distract Novak, who realed off 3 consecutive sets after dropping the 1st. Fernando Verdasco, sans his trademark fauxhawk, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Marin Cilic and Robin Soderling all advanced as well, while 17th seeded James Blake fell to Andreas Seppi in straights. Tommy Robredo, Dr. Ivo and Mardy Fish all moved on to the 2nd round. Play was suspended due to rain late at night. Who's not suprised?

Wimbledon
Men's Singles- 1st Round

Roger Federer (2) def. Yen-Hsun Lu, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2
Novak Djokovic (4) def. Julien Benneteau, 6-7 (8-10), 7-6 (7-1), 6-2, 6-4
Fernando Verdasco (7) def. James Ward, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9) def. Andrey Golubev, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5)
Marin Cilic (11) def. Alberto Martin, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Robin Soderling (13) def. Gilles Muller, 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-1, 6-2
Tommy Robredo (15) def. Luka Gregorc, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3)
Andreas Seppi def. James Blake (17), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
Rainer Schuettler (18) def. Xavier Malisse, 6-7 (9-11), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
Karol Beck def. Feliciano Lopez (21), 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8
Ivo Karlovic (22) def. Lukas Lacko, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
Philipp Kohlschreiber (27) def. Florent Serra, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 6-4
Mardy Fish (28) def. Sergio Roitman, 6-3, 6-2, 4-1, retired
Igor Andreev (29) def. Evgeny Korolev, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
Albert Montanes (32) def. Grega Zemlja, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Steve Darcis def. Frank Dancevic, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
Simone Bolelli def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-7 (3-7), 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4
Marcel Granollers def. Andreas Beck, 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2
Janko Tipsarevic def. Jan Hernych, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
Simon Greul def. Michael Yani, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5
Kristof Vliegen def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4
Guillermo Canas def. Diego Junqueira, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
Sam Querrey def. Danai Udomchoke, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Vincent Spadea def. Paul Capdeville, 6-0, 6-4, 7-5
Stefan Koubek def. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3
Dudi Sela def. Santiago Gonzalez, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
Ivo Minar def. Maximo Gonzalez, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-0
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Agustin Calleri, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2
Marc Gicquel def. Adrian Mannarino, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4
Nicolas Almagro def. Juan Monaco, 6-7 (3-7), 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 8-6

Ladies' Singles- 1st Round

Serena Williams (2) def. Neuza Silva, 6-1, 7-5
Elena Dementieva (4) def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-4, 6-1
Victoria Azarenka (8) def. Severine Bremond Beltrame, 6-2, retired
Nadia Petrova (10) def. Anastasiya Yakimova, 6-1, 6-1
Marion Bartoli (12) def. Yung-Jan Chan, 6-0, 6-0
Dominika Cibulkova (14) def. Julie Coin, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Zheng Jie (16) def. Kristina Barrois, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4)
Ai Sugiyama def. Patty Schnyder (21), 6-4, 6-4
Francesca Schiavone def. Aleksandra Wozniak (23), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Maria Sharapova (24) def. Viktoriya Kutuzova, 7-5, 6-4
Virginie Razzano (26) def. Tamira Paszek, 6-0, 3-1, retired
Alisa Kleybanova (27) def. Sesil Karatantcheva, 6-2, 7-5
Sorana Cirstea (28) def. Edina Gallovits, 7-5, 6-1
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (31) def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-2, 6-2
Roberta Vinci def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-3, 6-2
Jarmila Groth def. Lucie Safarova, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Mathilde Johansson def. Melanie South, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)
Arantxa Parra Santonja def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-4, 6-4
Daniela Hantuchova def. Laura Robson, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
Gisela Dulko def. Stephanie Foretz, 6-3, 7-5
Shahar Peer def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
Michelle Larcher de Brito def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-2, 7-5
Timea Bacsinszky def. Vesna Manasieva, 6-1, 4-6, 8-6
Regina Kulikova def. Karolina Sprem, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
Aravane Rezai def. Ayumi Morita, 6-2, 6-2
Ioana Raluca Olaru def. Nathalie Dechy, 1-6, 7-6 (7-0), 6-2
Sania Mirza def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
Jill Craybas def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-4, 7-5
Urszula Radwanska def. Masa Zec Peskiric, 6-3, 6-3
Elena Vesnina def. Yanina Wickmayer, 6-1, 6-1