Roger Federer may be the most successful men's champion in Wimbledon history, but he admitted he was nervous during the opening exhanges of his first round match against South African debutant Lloyd Harris.
Federer, 37, overcame a first set scare to defeat world No 86 Harris 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. The eight-time champion took time to get going and was helped by his opponent suffering a calf problem midway through the match.
"I struggled early on, my legs were frozen and the ball was not going where I wanted it to," said Federer. "He was hitting big and things were going quickly. I was nervous for a set and a half. So it took a good effort from me. Lloyd played a good match."
Federer is joined in the second round by long-time rival Rafael Nadal, who made light work of his opening round task by beating Japanese qualifier Yuichi Sugita 6-3, 6-1 6-3.
Nadal, a two-time champion at the All England Club, will contest the blockbuster tie of the second round when the third seed faces the unpredictable yet dangerous Nick Kyrgios.
The combustible Australian claimed an entertaining 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, 0-6, 6-1 win over countryman Jordan Thompson.
Kyrgios, who stunned Nadal as a 144th-ranked wildcard on his tournament debut in 2014, put in a typically raucous and charismatic display on Court 3 where he fired 23 aces and 63 winners.
However, while he progressed another of the top 10 seeds fell by the wayside - two-time French Open finalist Dominic Thiem's lack of ease on grass being exposed by veteran American serve and volleyer Sam Querrey.
Querrey, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2017, prevailed 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-0.
"There's still things which are not easy," Thiem, 25, said. "I mean, last year and this year together I played four grass court matches, which is not a lot at all. All the clay court season it takes a lot out of me."
The pursuit of nine begins...
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2019
Bidding to become the second player in history to win nine #Wimbledon titles, @rogerfederer books his ticket into the second round by beating Lloyd Harris pic.twitter.com/RzAJ5MYGfJ
Former Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych was another high-profile first round departure, the veteran Czech going down 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to American Taylor Fritz, who on Sunday won his first ATP Tour title at Eastbourne.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a two-time semi-finalist, faced little resistance from a seemingly disinterested Bernard Tomic in the first round as the Frenchman advanced 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
There was plenty to cheer for the home fans regarding British players on Day 2. Dan Evans cruised through to the second round with a 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 win over Argentine Federico Delbonis. Cameron Norrie was also a straight-sets winner, beating Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin 6-2, 6-4, 6-4, while Jay Clarke recovered from a set down to beat Noah Rubin 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.
However, there was heartbreak for James Ward, who surrendered a two-set lead against Nikoloz Basilashvili to lose a marathon match to the Georgian 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 8-6.
There was also disappointment for Denis Shapovalov after the Canadian 29th seed was eliminated 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 by world No 77 Ricardas Berankis.
