London: For the Roger Federer fans on Centre Court and the legions watching on televisions around the world it was a reassuring sight as the Swiss swept past Argentina's Guido Pella into the second round of Wimbledon on Monday.
Knee surgery and a nagging back injury had restricted the 17-time Grand Slam champion to 22 matches this season and his no-show at the recent French Open ended a run of 65 consecutive major appearances.
Talk of time finally catching up with Federer has been doing the rounds. So all eyes were on the 34-year-old Swiss great as he stepped onto Centre Court where he had held the trophy aloft on seven occasions.
But Federer began his 18th consecutive Wimbledon campaign with a tidy 7-6(5), 7-6(3), 6-3 victory that, while never spectacular, was relatively comfortable.
He offered up not a single break point to the 51st-ranked Pella, and while he converted only one of the nine that came his way, he found an extra gear when required.
Earlier, world No.1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic made a comfortable start by beating Britain's James Ward 6-0, 7-6(3), 6-4 to move into the second round.
The holder of all four Grand Slam titles appeared to be hurtling towards his 29th successive win at a major when he opened his Wimbledon defence by jumping out to a 6-0, 3-0 lead.
But two rallying war cries from the Centre Court crowd, "Wake up Wardy, wake up" followed by "He's only human James!" snapped the 177th-ranked wildcard out of his trance.
A 'human' Djokovic was forced to block out the noisy commotion moments later when Ward finally held serve to save his blushes.
Had the world No. 1 not kept track of the score, he might have thought Ward had just won the match as the Briton celebrated by holding both arms aloft as he lapped up the applause from all around the court.
Ward, who had not won a tour level match of any kind since making the third round here 12 months ago, then went on a roll to level the set at 3-3.
He also had three chances to break his more illustrious opponent in the 11th game of the second set, but it was not long before Djokovic snapped back into his 'Super-human' persona and ushered the son of a London black cab driver out of Wimbledon.
"I was really flawless, I felt great," said the 29-year-old, who is bidding to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold the first three legs of the calendar Grand Slam.
World No. 772 Marcus Willis proved the unlikeliest of home Wimbledon heroes, sealing a fairytale 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Ricardas Berankis, ranked more than 700 places up above him.
Cheered on by a packed and rowdy crowd desperate for a British win on day one at the tournament, the Briton showed all the guts and guile he needed to get through two rounds of qualifying, as well as the coaching he does to pay the bills.
Just winning the first-round match has netted 25-year-old Willis 30,000 pounds, so it was no surprise he fist-pumped and saluted every winner against the world No. 54 from Lithuania like he was lifting the trophy on the final Sunday.
He saved five break points in the eighth game of the final set before serving it out and he was greeted by near delirium on Court 17 before being swallowed up by the hugs of friends and family as he leant over the barriers.
American eighth seed Venus Williams, the oldest player in the women's singles draw, beat teenager Donna Vekic 7-6(3) 6-4.
Angelique Kerber beat British wildcard Laura Robson 6-2, 6-2 to notch up her first Grand Slam victory since hoisting the Australian Open trophy in January.
A first-round loser at Roland Garros last month, Kerber made sure she did not suffer another opening-round humiliation as she safely negotiated her way past the injury-plagued Robson.
"It's always tough to play the first few rounds at the grand slam. After the first-round loss in Paris, it's great to start the tournament like this," the fourth seed told reporters.
"It's always nice to play on the big stage, especially here in Wimbledon. I like this tournament so much. I have great memories. I reached the semis one year."
Women's second seed Garbine Muguruza of Spain beat Italian Camila Giorgi 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 to advance.
Men's fifth seed Kei Nishikori of Japan overcame Australian Sam Groth 6-4, 6-3, 7-5.
Men's sixth seed Milos Raonic, who is coached by John McEnroe, beat Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-4 in their first-round match.
Women's 23rd seed Ana Ivanovic suffered a surprising first-round exit, losing to Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 7-5.
The former world No. 1 blamed a wrist injury for the loss.
"Yeah, it was very tough," Ivanovic told reporters.
"I mean, for two weeks I've struggled with my right wrist. It was very hard to accelerate on my forehand. I tried to do everything possible to be fit and recover and tape it and so on.
"But, yeah, it was a little bit sore. I feel like it caused me a lot of miss-hits."
Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu became the first seeded player to exit the tournament. The women's number 25 seed lost 6-1, 6-4 to Germany's Carina Witthoeft.
(With inputs from Agencies)