Roger Federer wasn't breaking any sweat in his first round match against Alexander Dolgopolov, and before he had a chance to even think about putting in a proper shift at his favourite Centre Court of Wimbledon, his opponent retired, giving the already well-rested Swiss maestro more time to plan his assault on an unprecedented eighth title.

During those 43 minutes that he was on court, Federer looked like his usual majestic self, playing incomparable tennis and showing every single one of the players in the men's singles that he is ready to take home another Wimbledon title.

After clinching the first set 6-3, and leading the second 3-0, Federer was given an early victory, with Dolgopolov retiring due to injury.

Federer would have loved to have played a full match, just to get more of a feel at this year's Wimbledon, while he also took time to answer that question of whether Dolgopolov should have even played at all, when he was clearly carrying an injury coming into the first round match.

"His (Dolgopolov's) explanation to me is that he felt too much pain on the serve, maybe on the jump," Federer said. "At that point obviously when you're down a set and a break, it's getting worse, he's in pain. I see the point. If you feel like it's getting worse and you can hurt yourself even further, it is better to stop.

"The question always is, should they have started the match at all. That only the player can answer really, in my opinion. You hope that they would give up their spot for somebody else, even though they deserve to be in there, but fitness not allowing them."

Fitness has been an issue for Federer in recent years, with the 18-time Grand Slam champion taking a break during the entire clay-court season in order to have enough energy for a Wimbledon and US Open assault.

Roger Federer, Wimbledon 2017, second round, men's singles, Dusan Lajovic
Roger Federer will expect to go through to the third round in straight setsReuters

If that decision to take a break helps him or breaks his rhythm – remember he was the form player in the first couple of months, winning the Australian Open title as well – we will know as the tournament progresses, with Federer's next challenge being Dusan Lajovic in the second round.

Lajovic, who has never gone past the second round at Wimbledon, had no problems against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round, so he will take plenty of confidence from that 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory, which means Federer will need to ward off complacency and bring his prime game into this Wimbledon 2017 second round match on Centre Court.

When and where to watch live

Federer vs Lajovic is the third match on Centre Court on Thursday. The first match begins at 1pm BST, 5.30pm IST. Live Streaming and TV information is below.

India: TV: Star Sports Select 1HD. Live Streaming: Hotstar.

 

UK: TV: BBC One and BBC Two. Live Streaming: BBC iPlayer.

 

USA: TV: ESPN. Live streaming: Watch ESPN.

 

Australia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Foxtel.

 

France and Middle East: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.

 

Canada: TV: CTV and TSN. Live Streaming: TSN TV.

 

Asia: TV: Fox Sports Asia. Live Streaming: Fox Sports Play Asia.

 

China: TV: Beijing TV.

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