Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Reigning champion Novak Djokovic was an
easy opening-round winner on Day 1 at The Championships, Wimbledon.
The world No. 1 star throttled former top-ranked Spaniard and two-time
Wimbledon quarterfinalist Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 on the famed grass
on Centre Court at the All England Club. The 32-year-old Ferrero is also a
former French Open champ and two-time Grand Slam runner-up.
The 25-year-old Djokovic is now 28-1 over his last five majors and 40-2 over
his last seven Slams.
Djokovic reached his first-ever Wimbledon final and captured his first-ever
title here with a victory over Rafael Nadal a year ago. Djokovic and Nadal
have met in the last four Grand Slam finals, with the Serb winning three of
them. Nadal, however, beat Djokovic in the French Open final three weeks ago.
In other first-round action involving seeds, No. 18 Frenchman Richard Gasquet
drubbed German Tobias Kamke 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, No. 26 Russian Mikhail Youzhny
overcame American Donald Young 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, and No. 29 Frenchman
Julien Benneteau topped Luxembourg's Gilles Muller 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4).
The 2012 Wimbledon champ will earn $1.79 million.
The Sports Network