Wimbledon 2015: Defending champion Novak Djokovic eases into second round

Defending champion Novak Djokovic has won his opening round match at Wimbledon with a straight sets victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Djokovic, competing in his first competitive match since losing to Stanislas Wawrinka in the French Open final in May, sealed a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win on Centre Court and will meet either Lleyton Hewitt or Jarkko Nieminen in the second round.

The Serbian made a handful of unforced errors in the opening set, allowing world no. 33 Kohlschreiber to keep within touching distance of the world no. 1.

The German recovered well after having his serve broken in the first and third sets but was unable to close the gap on Djokovic, despite earning a break in the closing stages of the third.

Needing a tie-break to keep his challenge alive, Kohlschreiber was unable to cope with the constant pressure from his opponent.

"Of course it's great to be back," Djokovic told BBC Sport. "This the cradle of our sport, Centre Court. It doesn't get any bigger, it is a privilege and honour to open this year's Wimbledon on Centre Court.

"As defending champion there is this history that is well respected here and considering the match I had a very tough opponent who can be very tricky on all surfaces and especially on the grass.

"Yes it could [have been tricky]. I got a break early in the first and he broke straight back, same thing in third. I made the crucial breaks at 5-4 in all three sets, hopefully things can stay that way."

Women's singles champion Serena Williams meanwhile made quick work of Margarita Gasparyan in her opener at SW19, sealing a 6-4 6-1 win as she targets a clean sweep of the 2015 Grand Slam titles.

The world no. 1, however, lost serve in her opening game against the Russian challenger who fought until the sixth game of the opening set when the American broke to take control of the contest.

Williams quickly broke Gasparyan in the opening game of the second set but was made to save three break points as her opponent battled back in the fifth.

There was to be no repeat of last year's early exit however as Williams, who is in pursuit of a sixth Wimbledon title, wrapped up the W.