ATP: Federer, Roddick open with wins at rainy Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Reigning four-time champion Roger Federer and two-time runner-up Andy Roddick were a pair of straight-set winners on a rain-interrupted opening day at Wimbledon.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Swiss Federer handled Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Centre Court at the venerable All England Club. Federer barely broke a sweat in an uneventful 91-minute victory. The start of the match, and all of the day's action, was delayed by rain for just over 2 1/2 hours, and the wet stuff is in the forecast for most of this first week.
Federer fired nine aces and broke Gabashvili's serve on four occasions on his way to the second round, where he'll meet 6-foot-5 Argentine Juan Martin del Potro or Italian veteran Davide Sanguinetti.
The 25-year-old Federer is trying to become only the second man in the Open Era to win this event five years in a row, joining the legendary Bjorn Borg, who captured it from 1976-80. Federer has won his last 29 matches at the All England Club, while Borg won 41 straight here from 1976-81 before finally losing to John McEnroe in the 1981 final.
The 10-time Grand Slam champion Federer is also the reigning Australian and U.S. Open champ and was this year's French Open runner-up to Rafael Nadal. The amazing Swiss has played in a record eight straight Grand Slam finals, going 6-2. He beat Nadal in last year's Wimbledon finale and hasn't lost here since Croatia's Mario Ancic beat him in the first round in 2002.
A third-seeded Roddick got past fellow American Justin Gimelstob 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) on Court 1. Roddick uncorked 16 aces and held his lethal serve throughout the entire match.
The former No. 1 star and 2003 U.S. Open champion Roddick lost to Federer in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finals and could meet the mighty Swiss in this year's semis. Federer also downed Roddick here in the semis in 2003.