Andy Roddick, Justine Henin and Serena Williams also advanced on the opening day of the only grass-court Grand Slam tennis tournament.

Federer beat Teimuraz Gabashvili, an 85th-ranked Russian, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in 1 1/2 hours on Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in southwest London.

"It was solid," Federer, the world No. 1-ranked player, told reporters. "I'm very happy."

Rain delayed the start of today's play by almost three hours.

Federer, from Switzerland, is the bookmakers' 4-9 favorite to tie Borg, who won his fifth straight title in 1980. Britain's Willie Renshaw won six consecutive Wimbledon singles titles through 1889 and shares the men's overall record of seven victories with Pete Sampras of the U.S.

"I've got so much confidence and experience on this surface," Federer said. "I always expect to play good tennis on grass."

Playing his first match since losing the French Open final to Spain's Rafael Nadal two weeks ago, Federer entered in a white blazer and kept on a matching pair of long pants for his warm-up on a chilly afternoon. The roof over the stands at Centre Court has been removed while a retractable lid is built.

Federer broke his opponent's serve without dropping a point in the sixth game of the first set and took the second set with the help of a forehand lob that landed on the baseline. In the final set, Gabashvili unsuccessfully challenged a line call, then congratulated the line judge for getting it right.

A fifth championship would tie Federer with Borg and Australia's Rod Laver with 11 Grand Slam titles, one behind Roy Emerson. Sampras holds the record with 14.

Roddick, the No. 3 seed and two-time runner-up, beat American Justin Gimelstob 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) on Court No. 1. Roddick put 74 percent of his first serves in play, winning 85 percent of those points against a player he said he considers "hilarious" and a friend.

"If you're taking care of your own serve, it puts pressure on the other guy," Roddick said. "It was tough. It's always nice to get through."

Men's Seeds

Germany's Tommy Haas, seeded 13th, beat the American Zack Fleishman 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, and Spain's David Ferrer, the 17th seed, beat Argentina's Sergio Roitman 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, the 27th seed, lost to France's Florent Serra in straight sets. Fifth-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile defeated Robby Ginepri of the U.S., 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6- 2, 6-2.

Women

Henin, the women's No. 1 seed, started her bid for her first Wimbledon title by losing just three games against Argentine qualifier Jorgelina Cravero. The Belgian, who won her sixth Grand Slam in Paris last month, beat a player ranked 116 places lower, 6-3, 6-0.

Williams, who won her second Wimbledon title four years ago, was a 7-5, 6-0 winner against the Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain. Martina Hingis, whose 1997 Wimbledon title was one of the five Grand Slams she won before quitting the sport for three years, saved two match points before beating British wild card Naomi Cavaday.

Hingis, the ninth seed, won 6-7 (1-7), 7-5, 6-0 after shouting at herself in frustration during the opening two sets. She was returning from a thigh injury that kept her out for more than a month out.

"I wasn't going to miss Wimbledon for anything," Hingis told reporters.