More than 750 players are entered in various events at the All England Club during the Wimbledon championships. On Monday, 128 of those competitors embarked on their unique journey as the Ladies and Gentleman singles draw began.

Djokovic Cruises to Second Round

Top-seed and the world no. 1 Novak Djokovic was first on Centre Court as he began the pursuit of his third grand slam title of the year. In a solid effort, he would dispatch James Ward 6-0, 7-6, 6-4.

Djokovic would take the first nine games of the match before the Brit could scratch the surface. But, to the crowd’s delight, Ward would fight back to force a second set tiebreak before succumbing to the 12-time major champion.  The Serb found success against Ward’s serve early, breaking five times in the match.

Djokovic was happy with his performance, “After the first nine games there was not really much to say about my game. It was really flawless,” he said. “I felt great. Nerves kicked in for James but he started to play better in the second part of the second set and it wasn’t easy to break his serve after that.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Muguruza Battles past Giorgi

With her recent French Open title still fresh, Garbine Muguruza stepped onto the grass and overcame a strong effort by Camila Giorgi, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

It was a battle of two fierce ball strikers who rifled shots at each other for over two and a half hours. But the Spaniard showed the poise of a champion, remaining steady, as the Italian made errors at key moments during the third set. In the decisive set, she would find the one service break needed and would remain stingy on her service games.

Muguruza was happy with how the match unfolded, “It was very tough,” she said. “I like to play tough matches, it puts me more into the tournament and gives me more confidence.”

Federer Advances with Straight Set Win

Although it was not easy and he did not play his best, Roger Federer defeated Guido Pella 7-6, 7-6, 6-3, and advanced to the second round. After missing Roland Garros due to injury, Federer worked out some rust in his opening match at SW19.

While his movement was not at peak form, Federer found success behind his serve. The Swiss placed 63 percent of his first serves in play, with 12 aces. He was strong at the net as well, winning 34 of his 42 points there.

The 7-time Wimbledon champion entered the fortnight still questioning his fitness. “I worked so hard to be here,” he said. “My hope was to be here fully fit. No one knows, not even myself. But we'll see.” He showed no signs of the back injury that recently forced him to the sidelines, during the match.

Federer will face an early Cinderella story in the second round. The world no. 772, Marcus Willis of Great Britain, defeated Ricardas Berankis in straight sets earlier in the day. With his ranking, Willis was forced to play and succeed at events prior to Wimbledon just to have an opportunity to enter the qualifying draw. He found success there and gained entry into the main draw.

Mixed Results for American Women

It was a slow start for the American women on Monday as Shelby Rogers, Victoria Duval, and Madison Brengle were all eliminated early in the day. Rogers, who was a Cinderella story at last month’s French Open, was overwhelmed by Sabine Lisicki on the London grass courts and fell 6-1, 6-3. Meanwhile, Duval lost to 19-year old Daria Kasatkina 6-0, 7-5. Brengle was defeated by Kurumi Nara in a tough three-setter, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3.

Later, Nicole Gibbs, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Irina Falconi and Louisa Chirico would join the misfortunes. Gibbs was eliminated by Kirsten Flipkens 6-3, 6-1. The Belgian entered Wimbledon hoping to duplicate her run from 2013, where she advanced to the semifinals. Mattek-Sands fell to her doubles partner, Lucie Safarova, in a grueling three set affair, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5. The 28-seeded Czech is still attempting to fully recover from an illness that set her back late in 2015.

Elsewhere, Falconi lost a hard fought battle against Marina Erakovic 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 while Chirico had no answer for Misaki Doi, falling 6-1, 6-2.

The fortunes would change for the Americans as the day unfolded with top-10 seeds, Venus Williams, and Madison Keys prevailing.

Williams was tested by Donna Vekic in a 7-6, 6-4 victory, but the 36-year old maintained her cool demeanor and offset an impressive performance by the Croatia native. Vekic, whose defensive prowess was on full display, ran down big strokes from the veteran and often turned defense into offense with some impressive ground strokes. But it was Williams who would increase the intensity, particularly at key points in the match.

Williams complimented her opponent afterward, “I felt like I couldn't hit a winner against her today, she ran everything down and played amazing tennis,” she said.

Venus began her record-tying 71st grand slam singles tournament on Monday.

Elsewhere, 9th seeded Keys cruised past Laura Siegemund, 6-3, 6-1 in just over an hour. Keys dictated the match behind her power game and attacked the German on her service games to gain a decisive advantage.

Later, the Americans would get a boost from Varvara Lepchenko and Samantha Crawford who joined Keys and Williams, advancing to the second round. 6 more American women will take to the grass courts on Tuesday including world no. 1 Serena Williams.