Former champions Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic wasted little time getting to the second round at Wimbledon.
World number one Nadal won the first match he has played since June’s French Open triumph, beating Israel’s Dudi Sela 6-3 6-3 6-2.
Djokovic showed some of the form that took him to the Queen’s final in a 6-3 6-1 6-2 win over Tennys Sandgren.
Nadal next faces Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin, while Djokovic plays Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos.
Nadal makes comfortable return to grass
It is the second successive year that Nadal has arrived at the All England Club without playing any other grass-court tournaments. In 2017, he reached the fourth round, losing in five sets to Gilles Muller.
He looked comfortable on a surface he had not played on for a year. His first breakthrough came when Sela double-faulted to put him 5-3 up in the first set, and he served it out.
While world number 127 Sela at times surprised the Spaniard by matching his athleticism and getting to seemingly impossible drop shots to draw gasps from the crowd, he also gave too much away.
He gifted Nadal the break in the first game of the second set when he hit a straightforward volley at the net and from then on seemed resigned to his fate against an energetic-looking opponent.
Nadal, seeded second, behind 2017 champion Roger Federer, needed three match points to settle the encounter, which he did with a powerful backhand.
He said there was still “room to improve” but was happy to advance.
“After a while without playing on grass, it’s very important to start with a straight victory,” said Nadal, who won Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010.
“I went to the net a couple of times, later in the third set I served worse, but in general terms I served well.”
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