RAFAEL NADAL has vowed to be ready for a Wimbledon showdown with a dreadlocked German who has already taught him a lesson on grass.
There were no nasty first round surprises for Nadal, Roger Federer or Andy Murray on Tuesday as the three star names in the bottom half of the men's draw made progress in straight sets. Lying in wait for Spaniard Nadal next on Thursday, though, will be Dustin Brown, a tricksy player he knows can cause him trouble on grass, because Brown beat him last June in Halle, Germany.
"It is difficult to think about how the match is going to be. He's not a usual player. Anything can happen," said Nadal, a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 winner on Court One against Brazilian Thomas Bellucci.
"He beat me last year in Halle. It is a dangerous match. He's a tough player. He won today against a good opponent in Lu [Yen-hsun]. He will probably come with good confidence. I'm going to try to be ready for it."
Brown, who represented Jamaica until 2010, counts grass as his favourite surface and saw off Taiwanese player Lu 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.
Federer sped through his opener against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur with familiar panache. The seven-time champion was never in any danger as he enjoyed a 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 stroll on Centre Court.
Murray's bid for a second Wimbledon title began purposefully enough with a straight-sets victory over Mikhail Kukushkin. Kukushkin, ranked 59th in the world, offered a stiff examination for Murray, who came through 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 on Centre Court.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was pushed all the way by Luxembourg's Gilles Muller, a player who beat Grigor Dimitrov at Queen's Club, where he also took a set off Murray. The 13th seed from France came through a 7-6 (10/8), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 winner, a searching examination that should set him up well for the tests to come.
"I thought it was going to be difficult, and it was. He's a very good player, especially on grass and indoors. He likes that kind of surface," Tsonga said.
"In the end, the most important is to win, and I think I did a good job."
Ivo Karlovic, the 36-year-old from Croatia with a vicious serve, fired down 42 aces in beating Sweden's Elias Ymer 6-7 (2/7), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2).
Other men's winners included French 12th seed Gilles Simon, Spanish 15th seed Feliciano Lopez, Serbian 22nd seed Victor Troicki and Holland's unseeded Robin Haase, who will face Murray next.
Haase beat a young Murray in Rotterdam, but has lost their three subsequent meetings, each of them in Grand Slams.
