Djokovic, Williams and Sharapova reach second round at Wimbledon

LONDON - Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova all reached the second round on the opening day's competition of the Wimbledon championships here on Monday.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after winning his match against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, June 29, 2015.  [Photo/Agencies]

Defending champion Djokovic, the world No. 1, dispatched Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Center Court.

"It is great to be back in the cradle of our sport," he said. "We have this tradition that the champion opens on Center Court. It is a privilege and an honor. It doesn't get any bigger than Wimbledon."

Djokovic, playing his first match after losing to Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final, broke the 33rd-ranked Kohlschreiber in the ninth game of each set.

"I had a tough opponent," Djokovic said. "He can be tricky on all surfaces and especially on the grass where he had nothing to lose. I'm glad I was able to stay composed."

The Serb will next face Finland's Jarkko Nieminen, who took four hours to beat former champion Lleyton Hewitt 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0, 11-9.

"I didn't leave any stone unturned preparing," said the 34-year-old Hewitt, who had announced to retire after next year's Australian Open.

Wawrinka kicked off his Wimbledon with a 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (3) win over the world No. 45 Joao Sousa.

Women's top seed Serena Williams, who had already won the Australian Open and French Open, eased past 113th-ranked Margarita Gasparyan of Russia 6-4, 6-1.

"I didn't know she was a qualifier," she said. "But she had nothing to lose and she started so incredibly fast. I thought, Oh my God, I am going to be down a set here if I'm not careful."

Her sister and five-time champion Venus Williams also advanced with an comfortable victory over Madison Brengle 6-0, 6-0 in just 42 minutes.

Fourth seed Sharapova reached the second round with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Britain's Johanna Konta, setting up a clash against Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp.

Japan's fifth seed Kei Nishikori overcame a left leg injury to claim a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Italy's Simone Bolelli.