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WORLD SPORT

No trouble for Federer and Hewitt

LONDON, England -- Defending champion Roger Federer advanced to the second round at Wimbledon, easily beating Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 6-4 6-2 6-4 on Monday.

And 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt had no problems getting past Belgian Christophe Rochus 6-3 6-3 6-1, punching down 19 aces in an impressive display.

Swiss world number one Federer now faces Ivo Minar who beat his fellow Czech Michal Tabara 6-4 6-4 6-4.

Rochus, the older brother of the 33rd seed Olivier, offered sporadic resistance, but was no match for an opponent who looked fresh and hungry after recently returning from a three-month lay-off with foot and rib injuries.

Even when Rochus did pose a slight threat, Hewitt had all the right answers. Facing two break points at 15-40 in the third game of the third set, Hewitt replied by smashing down two aces.

By defeating Mathieu top-seeded Federer stretched his winning streak to 30 matches on grass.

Federer has already won seven titles this season, but he lost in the first two Grand Slam semifinals this year.

At the Australian Open, Marat Safin beat him, and the he lost to Rafael Nadal in the last four at the French Open.

Federer, widely tipped to eventually overhaul Pete Sampras's Wimbledon record of seven titles, was in supreme form on Monday easing to victory in one hour 49 minutes.

Important first step

"It was a good start," said Federer. "It's always special to come back, it's an important first step. The tournament's underway now and I feel relieved."

Australian third seed Hewitt, who could meet Federer in the semifinals, had been upset about being seeded third behind last year's runner-up Andy Roddick despite being ahead of the American in the official rankings.

And he had played only three matches in the past three months as he first underwent toe surgery and then suffered cracked ribs in a freak accident at home.

But the 24-year-old showed no signs of his recent problems as he set up a second round clash against either Czech Jan Hernych or American wildcard James Blake.

"The grass felt very soft but it will quicken up over the next two weeks," said Hewitt who refused to discuss the seeding row.

"I didn't feel my ribs were affected by my serving but the first round is always tough and it was good to get the win under my belt. It was a good hit without wasting a lot of energy."

Britain had a rare success story in the men's first round when David Sherwood, playing in his first Wimbledon, beat Brazil's Ricardo Mello 6-3 6-4 6-4.

Mark Philippoussis of Australia reached the second round defeating Karol Beck of Slovakia 7-5 6-4 6-2.

The 2003 runner-up next goes up against Russian fifth seed Safin for a place in the third round.

Seeded players Tommy Robredo and French Open finalist Mariano Puerta dropped out of the tournament when they lost their first round games.

Argentine Puerta, seeded 16th on the strength of his Roland Garros heroics earlier this month, was never in with a shout against German Lars Burgsmueller, losing 6-1 6-1 6-4.

Spanish 13th seed Robredo also fell by the wayside, beaten 6-1 6-2 7-5 by compatriot Fernando Verdasco.

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