Andy gets into the groove

In keeping with tradition, Murray had the honour of playing the opening match on Centre Court as the defending men’s champion – and looked right at home in beating David Goffin 6-1, 6-4, 7-5.

Murray broke the 105th-ranked Belgian four times, saved the only two break points against him and sealed the contest with an ace, his eighth of the match. It was Murray’s 450th tour-level match win.

Murray received a huge ovation when he strode onto the court where he beat Novak Djokovic in last year’s final, soaking in the applause and giving a wave to the crowd. “It was nice,” Murray said. “I was nervous this morning, nervous yesterday. Walking through brings back a lot of good memories. I got a nice round of applause and once you sit down in a chair it’s time to get ready for this year and move on from last year.”

Among those in the Royal Box for the occasion were Murray’s father and grandparents and retired NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, dressed in suit and tie. Murray chatted briefly with the 7-foot-1 (2.16-meter) Shaq after the match. Murray’s new coach, Amelie Mauresmo, sat in the front row of the guest box but showed little emotion throughout the match. Murray said the two spoke over dinner last week about the pressures of returning to Centre Court as reigning champ.

“One of the things she said is she tried to take in the atmosphere and the experience of walking out as defending champion,” Murray said. “You never know if you’ll get the chance to do it again.”

Djokovic sails too

Also winning on Monday was Novak Djokovic, who lived up to his top billing at Wimbledon when he combined brutal force with deft touches to reach the second round in a 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 destruction of Kazakhstan’s Andrey Golubev.

The 2011 champion, elevated to top seed despite his world number two ranking, appeared to be heading for a rarely-seen “triple bagel” in men’s tennis when he led 6-0 5-0 against his hapless opponent.

Golubev eventually registered on the Centre Court scoreboard after 44 minutes, drawing a warm round of applause from the crowd who were eager to witness a closer contest.

Djokovic, however, was in no mood to oblige and took just 88 minutes to book a second-round showdown with wily Czech campaigner Radek Stepanek.

Among other winners on opening day was sixth-seeded and 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych, who beat Victor Hanescu 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4, 6-3. No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov, No. 12 Ernests Gulbis and No. 17 Mikhail Youzhny also advanced.

But 18th-seeded Fernando Verdasco fell to Australia’s Marinko Matosevic, losing 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

In women’s play, second-seeded Li Na of China advanced with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Paula Kania of Poland. Li, the 2011 French Open champion, rallied to win the last four games of the first set after being down a service break at 5-3.

Five-time champion Venus Williams won her first singles match at Wimbledon since 2011, posting a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor of Spain. Williams lost in the first round in 2012 and missed last year’s tournament because of a back injury.

“I’ve come back so many times from injuries,” said Williams, who served 11 aces. “I just feel like the more I keep playing, the better I get.”

Victoria Azarenka won her first match in five months, defeating 1999 Wimbledon semifinalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-3, 7-5. The eighth-seeded Azarenka, a two-time semifinalist at the All England Club, made her return at Eastbourne last week following the long layoff with a left foot injury, losing in the first round. Former U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur, the 17th-seeded Australian, slumped to a 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer.

Other results
Women’s singles Rd 1: 6-Petra Kvitova beat Andrea Hlavackova 6-3, 6-0; 12-Flavia Pennetta beat Jana Cepelova 6-2, 6-3; 30-Venus Williams beat Maria Teresa Torro 6-4, 4-6, 6-2; 2-Li Na beat Paula Kania 7-5, 6-2; 23-Lucie Safarova beat Julia Goerges 7-6(3), 7-6(3); 8-Victoria Azarenka beat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-3, 7-5; 22-Ekaterina Makarova beat Kimiko Date-Krumm 3-6, 6-4, 7-5; Maria Kirilenko beat 18-Sloane Stephens 6-2, 7-6(6); Yanina Wickmayer beat 17-Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-4; 32-Elena Vesnina beat Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 6-0, 6-4.
Men’s singles Rd 1:26-Marin Cilic beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-1; 1-Novak Djokovic beat Andrey Golubev 6-0, 6-1, 6-4; 27-Roberto Bautista beat Steve Johnson 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5; 7-David Ferrer beat Pablo Carreno 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-1; Robin Haase beat 31-Vasek Pospisil 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3; 11-Grigor Dimitrov beat Ryan Harrison 7-6(1), 6-3, 6-2; Leonardo Mayer beat 25-Andreas Seppi 6-3, 2-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4; 20-Kevin Anderson beat Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 7-5, 6-2; 3-Andy Murray beat David Goffin 6-1, 6-4, 7-5; 17-Mikhail Youzhny beat James Ward 6-2, 6-2, 6-1; 6-Tomas Berdych beat Victor Hanescu 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4, 6-3; 12-Ernests Gulbis beat Juergen Zopp 7-6(7), 7-5, 7-6(10); Marinko Matosevic beat 18-Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.