Justine slips on grass

But only just.

The 30-year-old’s toothless display left the Centre Court crowd on the edge of its seats before he finally overcame obscure Finn Jarkko Nieminen 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.

“It was ordinary at best,” was Henman’s candid verdict. “I was struggling with my form the whole match, that was the picture really… but you’ve got to keep fighting.

“Fight with what you’ve got on the day. I am proud of the way I managed to do that. You can lose this tournament on the first day but you can’t win it.”

French Open champion Henin-Hardenne learnt the harsh reality of Henman’s maxim the tough way.

She had no answer to Greek Eleni Daniilidou’s weight of shot and went down 7-6, 2-6, 7-5. Defending champion Maria Sharapova failed to match the sparkle of her 18 carat gold tennis shoes in the opening of her defence, but still advanced 6-2, 6-2 over claycourter Nuria Llagostera Vives.

However, the scoreline had as much to do with the Spaniard’s unease on the slick grass as the champion’s prowess. Still, though, Sharapova could not help but enjoy her match.

Men’s second seed Andy Roddick was far more impressive, thumping Czech Jiri Vanek 6-1, 7-6, 6-2.

The man with the world’s fastest serve cracked 14 aces past his opponent as he racked up victory in 82 minutes.

“I felt like it was a pretty good performance,” last year’s runner-up said.

“You know, three sets, I’m through to round two. I felt like I hit the ball pretty cleanly.

“That’s what you’re looking for in the first round.”

Arriving at Wimbledon as the Stella Artois champion for the third successive year, Roddick will face Italian Daniele Bracciali next.

Bracciali won a nerve-shredding, five-set match against 6ft 10ins (2.08m) Ivo Karlovic 6-7, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, 12-10.

Roddick was joined in the second round by fellow American Venus Williams who breezed past Eva Birnerova 6-2, 6-4. “It was sunny. That was nice,” she sighed.

Younger sister Serena, seeded fourth this year, meets fellow American Angela Haynes later on Tuesday.

British wildcard Andrew Murray crowned his Grand Slam debut with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory over George Bastl.

Bastl is best known for beating seven-times champion Pete Sampras in the American’s last trip to Wimbledon in 2002.

But on the same court on which he recorded that milestone win, the Swiss journeyman was no match for 18-year-old Murray.

Murray, who faces Radek Stepanek next, is refusing to get carried away, though.

(Reuters)