World number one Rafael Nadal has buried the first round misery of his 2013 Wimbledon to set up a rematch with Lukas Rosol, the Czech who condemned him to a humiliating second round exit in 2012.
Second seed Nadal, fresh from his ninth French Open triumph and bidding for a 15th Grand Slam title, became only the 11th man to record 700 tour wins when he came back from a set down to beat Slovakia’s world number 51 Martin Klizan, 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-3.
The Spaniard, champion in 2008 and 2010, was knocked out in the first round at Wimbledon last year by Steve Darcis, a Belgian journeyman who hasn’t won a match since.
Twelve months earlier, Rosol had stunned him in five sets, a shattering defeat which forced Nadal out of the sport for seven months to rest his battered knees.
“Rosol is a very dangerous player, very strong, very powerful shots from the baseline and I know I have to play very well if I want to have chances to win,” said Nadal.
“The important thing is to fight, play with the right tactic and wait for the luck.”
Roger Federer began his campaign for an eighth Wimbledon title with a 6-1 6-1 6-3 victory over Paolo Lorenzi, the hapless Italian who’s now lost all of his 13 Grand Slam matches.
Fourth-seeded Federer, the 17-time major winner, had lost to Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovksy in the second round 12 months ago for his earliest defeat at the tournament since 2002.
But there was never a hint of a repeat of that disaster on Tuesday as the 32-year-old Swiss took victory on a sixth match point having fired nine aces and 36 winners.
“It’s always good to win the first round because the court can be slippery sometimes,” said Federer, who goes on to face either Luxembourg qualifier Gilles Muller or Julien Benneteau of France for a place in the last 32.
Defeat for Lorenzi meant the 32-year-old has still to win a match at a Grand Slam in 11 years.
Federer’s compatriot, Australian Open winner Stan Wawrinka also reached the second round with a first win at the tournament since 2011.
Wawrinka, the world number three but seeded five at the All England Club in a reflection of his grasscourt struggles, fired 18 aces and 39 winners in a 6-3 6-4 6-3 win over Portugal’s Joao Sousa.
Wawrinka, who has never got beyond the fourth round and was without a win in the tournament since 2011, tackles Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun for a place in the last 32.
Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 champion, and like Federer playing his 61st major, beat Michal Przysiezny of Poland, 6-2, 6-7 (14/16), 6-1, 6-4.