Roger Federer races through Wimbledon opener after clinching huge kit deal
The Swiss has bumped up his off-court earnings and remains the Wimbledon man to beat.
Roger Federer began his quest for a ninth Wimbledon title with a lightning-quick win over Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic.
Defending men’s champion Federer was first on Centre Court at 1pm, and an hour and 19 minutes later he had wrapped up a 6-1 6-3 6-4 victory against the world number 58.
Of greater inconvenience to the 20-time grand slam champion seems to be his famous ‘RF’ logo.
Federer unveiled a new Uniqlo kit on Centre Court on Monday, confirming the end of his clothing deal with Nike after more than a decade.
The Japanese brand is reported to be paying the Swiss superstar around £22million a year for the next decade.
Yet missing from his new outfit was Federer’s monogram of his initials which he confirmed is still the property of Nike.
“So the ‘RF’ logo is with Nike at the moment, but it will come to me at some point,” Federer said.
“I hope, rather sooner than later, that Nike can be nice and helpful in the process to bring it over to me. It’s also something that was very important for me, for the fans really.”
Last year’s runner-up Marin Cilic was also a comfortable winner, beating Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan 6-1 6-4 6-4.
The Croatian has designs on another run to the final after blisters put paid to his bid to beat Federer 12 months ago.
“I’m looking at last year’s experience as a positive one and the one that I can learn from especially in my psychological approach to the match,” Cilic said.
“Psychologically I felt the atmosphere, I felt the pressure, as well. I felt like I was dealing with it really, really nicely, and it gave me great confidence for this year coming back on grass.
“I feel it can give me a slight edge.”
Stan Wawrinka came out on top in a heavyweight first-round contest with Grigor Dimitrov.
The former world number three is currently ranked 224th due to a prolonged absence through injury.
Wawrinka needed two operations on his left knee last year and has struggled for form since making his comeback in January.
But the Swiss was always going to be a dangerous floater in the main draw and so it proved as he beat sixth-seeded Bulgarian Dimitrov 1-6 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (7/5) 6-4.
American Sam Querrey, a semi-finalist last year, fired 15 aces as he secured a 6-2 6-4 6-3 victory over Australian Jordan Thompson.
Milos Raonic won 11 games in a row on his way to beating Britain’s Liam Broady and ninth seed John Isner beat Germany’s Yannick Maden, also in straight sets.
