Serena, Djokovic Ease Into Second Round

Serena Williams said she always feels the nerves entering the first round of a major.

There seemed to be few on Tuesday as the top seed and defending champion defeated Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 6-1, 6-3 to move into the second round of Wimbledon.

The top seed on the men's side, Novak Djokovic, also moved on with ease.

Djokovic defeated Florian Mayer of Germany, who is ranked No. 34 in the world, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

Djokovic took a 3-0 lead in the first set and broke for a 6-5 lead in the second to take firm control. He served out the match to love before saluting the Centre Court crowd with a fist pump.

"It was a big pleasure again performing here on Centre Court in front of the packed crowd," Djokovic said. "For the first round, it was tricky. ... I think (Mayer's) game is really well suited for grass, so it took a lot of effort."

Wimbledon: Rafael Nadal Suffers Shock Defeat by Steve Darcis

In one of Wimbledon's greatest upsets, an ailing Rafael Nadal was knocked out in straight sets Monday by a player ranked 135th — the Spaniard's first loss in the opening round of a Grand Slam event. Steve Darcis of Belgium stunned the two-time champion 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-4. He ended Nadal's 22-match winning streak and eliminated one of the Big Four of men's tennis on the very first day of the grass-court Grand Slam.

Nadal was sidelined for seven months with a left knee injury after losing in the second round of Wimbledon last year. He seemed to be struggling physically. He was unable to turn on the speed or use his legs to spring into his groundstrokes, limping and failing to run for some shots. Darcis was as surprised as everyone else with the result.

"Rafa Nadal didn't play his best tennis today,'' the 29-year-old Belgian said. "The first match on grass is always difficult. It's his first one. Of course, it's a big win. I tried to come to the net as soon as I could, not play too far from the baseline. I think it worked pretty good today.''

Nadal was coming off his eighth championship at the French Open last month but, on this day, he never looked like the player who has won 12 Grand Slam titles and established himself as one of the greatest players of his generation. It's the second straight early Wimbledon exit for Nadal, who was ousted in the second round last year by 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol.