Roger Federer began his quest for a record sixth consecutive Wimbledon title with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 demolition of Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty.

The world number one Federer, extending his unbeaten streak on grass to 60 matches, eased into the second round with a confident performance on Centre Court.

The Swiss, with a morale-boosting tournament win on grass in Halle last week after a crushing French Open final defeat by Rafael Nadal earlier this month, was never extended by Hrbaty who battled hard but lacked the firepower to pressure the top seed.

The top seed, who next faces big-serving Swede Robin Soderling , was in imperious form against an opponent who had won their only two previous encounters, the last four years ago on a hard court in Cincinnati.

He is one of only three active players who boast a winning head-to head record against Federer.

With a radiant sun beating down, Federer was swiftly into the groove, holding his first service game to love and racing into a 3-0 lead after winning the first 11 points against the rusty Slovak.

Playing his first game on grass since last year's tournament after an injury-hit season and competing here under a protected ranking of 70, rather than his true one of 272 after undergoing elbow surgery, Hrbaty held serve at the second time of asking to sympathetic cheers.

He earned one standing ovation for an audacious lob at full stretch that left Federer flailing but the champion was in no mood to let his flying start slip.

Working his opponent around the court with a mix of precise groundstrokes, crisp volleys and a remorselessly-accurate serve, Federer was able to hit his stride back on a court that he has made his own.

The Swiss was put under pressure for the only time in the seventh game, Hrbaty forcing three deuces but no break points, but held firm and took the opening set in 25 minutes.

Fully into top gear, Federer raced away with the second set after breaking Hrbaty twice and, having barely broken sweat, had little trouble clinching the match for the loss of a further two games.

Third seed Novak Djokovic moved safely through to the second round, meanwhile, beating German journeyman Michael Berrer 7-5 2-6 6-3 6-0.

The Serb edged a tight first set, breaking the Berrer serve at 6-5 only to lose five games in a row in the second set as Berrer briefly threatened a first-day shock.

Australian Open winner Djokovic, seeded to play Federer in the semi-finals this year, quickly regained control with some classy tennis.

After taking the third set with a single break of serve he swept through the fourth in style.

Djokovic will next face twice grand slam winner Marat Safin, who saw off a third-set fightback by Fabio Fognini to win 6-1 6-2 7-6

Despite his oft-repeated dislike of grass courts, the big Russian, a quarter-finalist in 2001, produced an array of powerful shots in the first two sets to out-gun his 21-year-old Italian opponent.

Safin's concentration slipped in the third set and with it his accuracy. Fognini, making his first appearance in the men's singles, fought back to force a tiebreak but Safin's power and experience saw him through.

Former finalist David Nalbandian became the highest men's seed to perish on day one, beaten 6-4 6-2 6-4 by Canada's Frank Dancevic.

The seventh-seeded Argentine, runner-up to Lleyton Hewitt in 2002, looked completely out of sorts, bamboozled time and again by winners flying off Dancevic's racket.

The 95th-ranked Dancevic put Nalbandian out of misery with a booming ace, his 16th of the match.

The defeat condemned the Argentine to his earliest exit from the All England Club.

Hewitt, meanwhile, drew on his vast experience to tame Dutchman Robin Haase on his Wimbledon debut, the Australian prevailing 6-7 6-3 6-3 6-7 6-2.

The winner in 2002 missed most of the claycourt season with a hip injury and showed signs that he still had not regained full fitness despite reaching the quarter-finals at the Queen's club tournament earlier this month.

Big-serving Haase, 21, who fired down 28 aces in all, belied his inexperience on grass to take the first set on the tiebreak.

Dropping the opener provided the motivation Hewitt, seeded 20, needed to roust himself, the Australian warming to his task by aiming a verbal volley at the umpire early in the second set which he claimed with two breaks.

After losing the third set Haase needed medical treatment for blisters on both feet but showed no ill effects by easily claiming a second tiebreak to send the match into a decider.

Hewitt, 27, slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after spurning two break points in Hasse's opening service game but needed to save two against his own in the next.

The decisive break came in the fourth game when Hewitt, at full stretch, conjured a low thunderbolt down the line.

Earlier on Monday, Cypriot number 10 seed Marcos Baghdatis reached the second round on a sunny first day at SW19 with a workmanlike 6-3 6-2 6-7 6-3 win against Belgian Steve Darcis.

Baghdatis, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2006, survived three break points in the fifth game of the first set before seizing the initiative to take a 5-3 lead. He then won his serve to love.

In the second set, the Cypriot, who reached the quarter-finals of the Halle warm-up tournament last week losing to eventual champion Federer, twice broke Darcis's serve.

But the Belgian, ranked 51 in the world, 26 places below Baghdatis, fought his way back in a tight tiebreak to land the third set before the Cypriot upped the pressure to tie up the match.

Ivo Karlovic became the first seed to perish in the men's singles when he was surprisingly beaten 4-6 7-6 6-3 7-5 by German qualifier Simon Stadler.

Giant-serving Croat Karlovic, who many tipped to reach the later rounds here after he won the Nottingham warm-up event last week, went out in the first round for the fourth year in succession.

Karlovic banged down his customary barrage of aces, 23 in total, but after winning the first set comfortably enough his game went off the boil.

The 18th seed lost the second-set on a tiebreaker and world number 172 Stadler took full advantage to earn the biggest scalp of his career with single breaks of serve in the third and fourth sets.

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Reuters