LONDON: When Roger Federer’s game flows at Wimbledon and his opponent knows his place you half expect him to slide into a deckchair at changeovers, pour cream on to some strawberries and tuck in.

It was like that on Center Court on Tuesday as the King of Cool began his quest for an eighth title at the All England Club with a nonchalant dismantling of Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur.

With the mercury soaring into the high 80s Fahrenheit as London prepares for a heatwave, spectators were spared the full glare of the mid-afternoon sun thanks to the welcome shade produced by the partly-extended roof.

For 88th-ranked Dzumhur though there was no escape from the dazzling shot-making of the Swiss maestro who won 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.

It was a similar story earlier as reigning women’s champion Petra Kvitova scorched the grass with some searing serves in a 35-minute demolition of Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens.

She dropped only one point on serve in a commanding first-round show of force that augurs well for her chances of repeating her title charge of 12 months ago when she blew Eugenie Bouchard away in a one-sided final.

With umbrellas popping up around the grounds, for shade not falling raindrops, London’s hottest day of the year so far also seemed to agree with Spain’s twice former champion Rafa Nadal.

Lurking in the draw as 10th seed after a mediocre year by his high standards, the 29-year-old bludgeoned his way past Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci, winning 6-4, 6-2 6-4 on a sun-drenched Number One Court.

Third-seeded Romanian Simona Halep was knocked out losing in the first round 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to Jana Cepelova of Slovakia.

Halep reached the semifinals 12 months ago, just a month after finishing runner-up at the French Open.

The 22-year-old Cepelova, ranked 106 in the world, had won only one match on the tour all year before Tuesday.

She goes on to face another Romanian, Monica Niculescu, for a place in the last 32.

Andy Murray was given an unexpected run for his money in his first-round clash against Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin, but still came through 6-4 7-6(3) 6-4.

The third seed and 2013 champion looked on course to cruise through when he broke in the 10th game to clinch the first set and immediately broke again to take a 2-0 lead in the second.

But the wheels came off his serve and the Kazakh, ranked 59th in the world, took full advantage and fought back to lead 6-5 with the chance to serve for the set in sweltering conditions on Center Court.

An abdomen injury that scuppered Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s Wimbledon warm-up plans stood up to the test of a five-set battle as he reached the second round with a nerve-jangling 7-6(8) 6-7(3) 6-4 3-6 6-2 win over Gilles Muller.

The French 13th seed was a no-show at Den Bosch, Halle and Nottingham but the lack of preparation did little to dim his desire as he traded blows for almost four hours in sweltering conditions with the left-hander from Luxembourg.

Meanwhile, Williams sisters pulled out of women’s doubles with Serena saying it’s because she wants to focus on her bid for a fourth consecutive Grand Slam title in singles.

The official reason for the withdrawal was given as Serena’s “soreness.”

Both siblings won first-round singles matches in straight sets Monday.

“Following yesterday’s match, I feel it would be best for me to concentrate on singles here at Wimbledon, and as a result, have made the decision to withdraw from doubles,” Serena said in a statement. “I’ve always loved playing doubles with Venus, particularly here at Wimbledon where we’ve had so much success over the years, and so I’m really sorry to have to withdraw this year.”