Wimbledon 2018: Roger Federer, Marin Cilic Top Monday's Early Results

Roger Federer breezed into Round 2 at Wimbledon on Monday as he beat Dusan Lajovic in straight sets in the traditional curtain-raiser on Centre Court

The man Federer toppled in the final a year ago, Marin Cilic, is also through after he registered an easy win over Yoshihito Nishioka earlier in the day. 

In the women's draw, seventh seed Karolina Pliskova overcame a scare, as she was pushed to three sets by home hope Harriet Dart. The big surprise early on was the elimination of Sloane Stephens, though, as the U.S. Open champion was well beaten by Donna Vekic.

Here's a roundup of the early results from SW19.

Selected Monday Results

Men's Singles

(1) Roger Federer bt. Dusan Lajovic, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4

(3) Marin Cilic bt. Yoshihito Nishioka, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4

(11) Sam Querrey bt. Jordan Thompson, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3

Women's Singles

Donna Vekic bt. (4) Sloane Stephens, 6-1, 6-3

(7) Karolina Pliskova bt. Harriet Dart, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-1

Sorana Cirstea bt. (19) Magdalena Rybarikova, 7-5, 6-3

Results in full can be found on the Wimbledon website.

Monday Recap

GLYN KIRK/Getty Images

Given Federer has not lost in the first road of a Grand Slam event for 15 years, this clash on Centre Court was always going to be a huge challenge for Lajovic.

The Swiss started in spellbinding form, too, unsurprisingly looking at home from the off. These numbers from Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times sum up how well Federer, who was sporting some new gear, was playing:

In the end, despite some battling from Lajovic late on, it was always going to be too big an ask for him, and Federer made his way into Round 2 once again.

Cilic also had it easy, as the Croat seeks to go one step further than he did last year when he finished as runner-up. His big serving and huge ground strokes proved too hot for Nishioka to cope with, as the Queen's Club champion got up and running with a swagger.

In the women's draw, some big names had it tougher, with Pliskova pushed into a deciding set by 21-year-old Dart before eventually coming through.

Stephens, meanwhile, was well below her best against Vekic.

Eleanor Crooks of the Press Association noted the American is hit and miss in the Grand Slam events:

After making it to the final at Roland-Garros, many expected Stephens to do well again at SW19. Given how dangerous she can be, there will plenty in the women's draw glad that she's on her way home so soon.