The world number one, Novak Djokovic has not played since losing the French Open final to Stan Wawrinka, and was made to work hard in the opening set by the German, who came close to shocking Roger Federer at Halle two weeks ago.
But after that Djokovic seemed to grow accustomed to the surface, and waltzed to a 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory inside two hours.
Djokovic said afterwards that he was thrilled to have had the honour of being the first player to walk out on Centre Court this year, the traditional role of the defending champion.
“This is the cradle of our sport, it doesn’t get any bigger than Wimbledon Centre Court and it’s an honour and to be defending champion,” he told the BBC.
“I had a tough opponent, he can be very tricky especially on the grass but I stayed composed.”
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