London: Defending champion Serena Williams stuttered to a low-key and error-strewn 6-2, 6-4 first-round victory over Swiss qualifier Amra Sadikovic on Tuesday.

Looking a little off-colour, as though her quest for the elusive 22nd Grand Slam title was weighing heavily on her shoulders, Serena struggled with her serve and sprayed balls wide on both sides of the court. 

She served three double faults in the fifth game of the first set. It was her first match since she lost the French Open final to Garbine Muguruza this month. But the American should not have too many problems against Macedonian-born Sadikovic, ranked 148th in the world and with little main tour experience.

Serena eventually secured match point when her opponent just missed a lob and sealed victory after challenging a wrong call when her shot landed on the far baseline.

Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova got a late birthday present under Wimbledon’s centre court roof on Tuesday, with a 7-5, 6-4 win over former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who is projected to drop out of the top 50 with the defeat.

The veteran 13th seed’s power undid the Dane, who had been seeking her first win at a Grand Slam this year.

Second seed Andy Murray showed no mercy to fellow Britain Liam Broady as he launched his challenge with a straightforward 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

The day after British qualifier Marcus Willis, the world No. 772, made the front and back pages by reaching the second round, 235th-ranked Broady was given the Centre Court spotlight but played a subservient role as Murray gave a masterclass.

Murray, the 2013 champion, had not faced a fellow Britain in 56 previous Wimbledon matches while two home players had not squared off at the All England Club for 15 years. Murray admitted beforehand that it had felt “weird” but it was business as usual once play began as he broke twice to pocket the opening set in 25 minutes.

 Broady, still sporting the beard that caused a stir when he won a round last year, contributed to some eye-catching rallies but landed few telling blows as Murray raced away.

Australian 15th seed Nick Kyrgios overcame the gritty challenge of Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 6-1, foiling the Czech player’s bid to become the oldest man to win a Grand Slam singles match in almost 25 years.

After the players exchanged breaks of serve early on — the Australian playing a lax seventh game to concede his — Kyrgios made the decisive break of the first set in the tenth game. Kyrgios took the second on a single break and had the chance to wrap things up in straight sets when he served for the match at 5-4.

That burst of energy seemed to tire the Czech, and Kyrgios stormed through the fourth set with two further breaks of serve to wrap up victory in two hours and 26 minutes.

Stan Wawrinka met stiff resistance from American teenager Taylor Fritz before he finally asserted his dominance in a 7-6(4), 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-4 first-round victory.

The Swiss fourth seed was far from his best, with his groundstrokes uncharacteristically erratic, but his fearsome one-handed backhand and experience were enough to see off the 18-year-old making his tournament debut.

Wawrinka, who will play Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro in the next round, said he and other players needed to get used to grasscourt conditions.

“I know if I can start to win few matches, I can be dangerous to go far,” he told reporters.

Fritz, the youngest man in the draw, showed few nerves in the first set as he matched the twice Grand Slam champion shot-for-shot in a punishing baseline battle on No. 1 Court.

But his confidence seemed to evaporate after he lost the tie-break. He won just one game in the second set as Wawrinka found his range and bossed the exchanges.

Wawrinka struggled for concentration in a scrappy third set in which he made a string of unforced errors and he lost the tie-break. Visibly angry with himself, the 31-year-old stepped up his game to close out the match in the fourth.

Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga carried the French flag into the second round with straight-sets wins over Britain’s Aljaz Bedene and Spain’s Inigo Cervantes, respectively.

Seventh seed Gasquet used his trademark backhand to good effect to see off the British No. 2 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. Tsonga, back in action for the first time after retiring from the French Open with a groin injury, shook off the cobwebs of a close first few games to beat the Spaniard, ranked 75th in the world, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4.