Federer strolls through

A relaxed Roger Federer outclassed Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2 6-2 6-4 to waltz into the third round at Wimbledon yesterday.

The number two seed, bidding for a sixth Wimbledon crown and a record 15th grand slam title, barely broke sweat as he sent out an ominous message to the rest of the field.

As a contest it was all over once Federer broke serve in the third game of the match and the remainder of the one hour 29 minute stroll was pure exhibition stuff.

"I played too straightforward and maybe a little too much attack for him," said Federer, who lost in last year's final to Rafael Nadal.

"I could even try a few things in the third set."

Federer, the favourite to win the title in the absence of injured champion Nadal, will now play Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Yesterday, Federer's military-style jacket had its second airing at Wimbledon but Maria Sharapova's latest outfit was packed away for a while after the 2004 champion got knocked out in round two.

Sharapova, who made her name at Wimbledon when she beat Serena Williams in the final as a teenager, suffered a 6-2 3-6 6-4 defeat by Argentina's Gisela Dulko, a player she had dropped just three games against in their two previous clashes.

Dulko prevailed on her fifth match point when Sharapova, who was seeded 24th after a shoulder injury despite a world ranking of 60, fired a forehand long to send the Russian crashing out in the second round for the second consecutive year.

Sharapova was not the only seed to tumble on another baking hot day in south west London where huge crowds again flocked to the All England Club.

Two of the surprise semi-finalists from last year, China's Zheng Jie and Germany's Rainer Schuettler, had their follow-up attempts cut short.

Zheng was beaten 6-3 7-5 by Daniela Hantuchova, of Slovakia.

Schuettler, the men's 18th seed, was beaten in straight sets by Israel's Dudi Sela while another German, Simon Greul, found fourth seed Novak Djokovic in fine form, the Serb booking his place in round three with a 7-5 6-1 6-4 victory.

Jo-Wilfred Tsonga had an unexpected day off, getting through the second round without taking his rackets out of his bag after Italian opponent Simone Bolelli withdrew with a back injury.

Serena wins

Serena Williams was rarely troubled during an imperious 6-2 6-1 win over Australia's Jarmila Groth as she cruised into the third round.

The American second seed, chasing a third crown at the All England Club, was fast out of the blocks and never let the world number 69 settle into a rhythm.

Groth, who scored an eye-catching win over Lucie Safarova in round one, avoided a second set whitewash with a late hold but a service return into the net gave Serena victory on her second match point after 58 minutes.

Japan's 33-year-old Ai Sugiyama backed up her opening day victory over Patty Schnyder by reaching the third round with a 7-6 6-3 defeat of Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja to set up a third-round meeting with doubles partner Hantuchova.

French Open quarter-finalist Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, seeded eight, blew away Raluca Olaru 6-0 6-0 to set up a third round encounter with another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea.

Nadia Petrova, one of the army of Russians that dominate the women's draw, cruised through with the loss of just five games against Israeli Shahar Peer.