Roger Federer overcomes first set struggles to cruise into Wimbledon third round

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Roger Federer continued his quest to become the first man to win eight Wimbledon titles, breezing into the third round with a straight-sets victory over Dusan Lajovic.

Making a record-breaking 15th consecutive appearance in the second round, Federer won 7-6 (7-0), 6-3, 6-3 after just 90 minutes on Centre Court to set up a meeting with German Mischa Zverev.

On paper, this was a mismatch – a contest between the best grass-court player in a history and a 27-year-old seeking his first back-to-back victories on the surface. So it proved and, although the first set required a bagel-breaker, Federer never broke a sweat in a humid evening in SW19.

Lajovic was bidding to reach the third round here for the first time and he must have been as surprised as anyone on Centre Court when he broke Federer in the very first game.

The Swiss, nonplussed, hit back immediately but there were few signs of vintage Federer as the set progressed with serve. If anything, he was uncharacteristically sloppy -- perhaps unsurprising given that his second-round opponent Alexandr Dolgopolov retired after just 44 minutes on Tuesday.

Lajovic, to his credit, attacked Federer but if the first set was competitive, he simply stepped up a gear in the tie-break, storming to a perfect 7-0 win with a succession of sublime groundstrokes that left Lajovic dazed.

"I couldn't get rid of the nerves or find my rhythm," Federer told the BBC afterwards. "I struggled throughout that first set and I was happy to get rid of those nerves, play free tennis and in the end I felt good.

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"I should feel comfortable here and I do. I try to remind myself that eventually it'll come. The problem on grass is that it can take a while to find your rhythm. Some matches you can be horribly nervous, some matches it can be a piece of cake. I'm happy that happened here in the second round!"

In front of his watching parents, Federer's ascendency continued into the second set and he earned a break for 3-1 when Lajovic lost the flight of a looping lob and conceded the game with a woeful mishit.

It was a shame for the Serb, who had struck the ball well until then. There was still fight in the World No.79, however, and he saved three break points in his next service game, the last with a fine approach-and-volley. Federer, though, saw out the second set 6-3, with a few more glimpses of his genius, clinching it with a trademark cross-court forehand.

Another Federer break at the start of the third set left a packed Centre Court in little doubt that they were witnessing another Federer march to victory -- his 86th at Wimbledon -- and an inch-perfect drop-volley -- the shot of the match -- left Lajovic in the front row of spectators.

With three match points, Federer finished with an ace, and a wave to the crowd as he headed off court to contemplate a day off before the third round-match against World No.30. Zverev, who he has already beaten twice this year.

"It will one of those days of the year when nobody will really mind if I just lie on the couch or in bed and watch tennis and don't play with the kids as much as usual," Federer said, looking ahead to Friday. "We're having a great time, it's great weather here at Wimbledon. We're enjoying that and I'm sure it'll be another great day in the Federer house."

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