Rafael Nadal adapts to grass after set

One former Wimbledon winner progressed through the men's draw today while another went home as Rafael Nadal and Lleyton Hewitt had differing fortunes. Andy Murray, the main British hope, strolled through his first round match against Nikolay Davydenko, 6-1, 6-1, 6-4. At 26, Nadal has plenty of time to add to the two SW19 crowns he has already won and he took the first step towards making that happen with a three-set success over Thomaz Bellucci. He did not have it all his own way, though, often struggling to stick with the Brazilian on his way to a 7-6 (7/0) 6-2 6-3 win. Hewitt's days of winning so comfortably are over and yesterday the 2002 champion was subjected to a three-set defeat himself. The Australian is 31 now injuries are beginning to take their toll. He lost to last year's semi-finalist, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and afterwards, Hewitt confessed that he does not know if he will return next year. "I've been focusing on getting back and doing everything right with my foot," he said. "I'd like to be back, absolutely, but we'll have to wait and see." It was a bad day all-round for the Australians as Bernard Tomic, the teenager predicted to follow in Hewitt's footsteps, also went out, losing in four sets to David Goffin 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. The American Mardy Fish, back on tour after a heart scare, saw off Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo in straight sets but did not attend his post-match press conference after feeling unwell, while Jarko Nieminen took four sets to get past Feliciano Lopez. Alexandr Dolgopolov needed just three sets to see off Alex Bogomolov Jr, while Brian Baker, rebuilding his career after a five-year spell out injured beat Rui Machado 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-0. Elsewhere, there were wins for Matthew Ebden, Kei Nishikori, Jesse Levine and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Levine, a 24 year old based in Boca Raton, Florida, has practised and trained with Roger Federer, the 16-time grand slam champion, on occasion. "Actual training camps - I've done one with him in Dubai and one in a location I'm not allowed to say," the 106th-ranked Levine said after beating 94th-ranked Karol Beck of Slovakia 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-2 said yesterday. "Besides his tennis, he's an amazing person. On and off the court, he's a truly genuine person. He's so down to earth and a great guy to talk to, and for advice, too," Levine said. "If he saw something he thought I could improve on, he would always be honest with me. And I definitely listened to everything he said. If I would let him back in a point he would say, 'That was the ball, and you need to do something more with it.' When you hear it from him, and he's explaining it to you, it's really amazing." Petra Kvitova had to come from behind to make a winning start to the defence of her Wimbledon title on Centre Court. The 22-year-old Czech fell an early break down against Uzbekistan’s world No 96 Akgul Amanmuradova and was in trouble at 4-2 adrift in the first set, but then pieced together six straight games and went on to earn a 6-4, 6-4 victory. The match was interrupted by the first showers of the tournament during the second set but Kvitova was by that stage approaching the winning line. With father Jiri and mother Pavla watching from the Royal Box, Kvitova savoured the occasion of returning to the scene where she beat Maria Sharapova 12 months ago to secure her first grand slam title. Serena Williams ground out a shriek-filled win over the 62nd-ranked Zahlavova Strycova, a day after her sister and five-time champion, Venus, lost her first-round match on the same court in straight sets to Elena Vesnina. Williams seemed to be in control after going up 3-1 and then 5-3 in the second set. But, serving for the match, she was broken back for 5-4. Williams broke again in the next game, letting out another scream after Strycova struck a forehand long on the second match point. Vera Zvonareva, the No 12 seed, completed a 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Germany’s Mona Barthel in a match that had been suspended by darkness at one set apiece on Monday. Francesca Schiavone, the 24th-seeded Italian, came from behind to overcome 18-year-old British wild-card Laura Robson 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Schiavone, the 2010 French Open champion, received medical treatment after the first set for an apparent muscle problem. She was down 2-3 and 0-40 in the second set but saved the three break points and turned the match around against the 2008 Wimbledon junior champion.