Returning to his favorite stage and resuming his dominant ways on grass, Roger Federer started his bid for a sixth straight Wimbledon title Monday by sweeping Dominik Hrbaty in straight sets on a sunbathed Centre Court.

Third-seeded Novak Djokovic, top-seeded woman Ana Ivanovic and two-time champion Serena Williams were among other winners on the opening day of the two-week tournament.

In keeping with tradition, Federer had the honor of opening play on the main stadium court as defending champion at the 122nd Wimbledon championships. He seemed right at home as he beat Hrbaty 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 for his 60th straight grass-court win and 35th consecutive victory at the All England Club.

"I played well. It was a good match against a good friend of mine," Federer said. "I was consistent all the way throughout. I didn't have to face a break point. It's good, but never easy to open Centre Court, but it's a real honor."

A few minutes before Federer closed out his match, Williams completed a harder-than-expected 7-5, 6-3 win on Court 1 over Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.

Following Federer on Centre Court was Ivanovic, who beat Rossana de Los Rios of Paraguay 6-1, 6-2 in less than an hour in her first match since winning the French Open and taking over the No. 1 ranking. The Serbian player never faced a break point and ripped 13 baseline winners.

"Coming as the top seed, lots of people just expect you to win," Ivanovic said. "You have to work hard, especially on grass. Everything is happening so fast."

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