Andy Murray reacts after winning a point against Blaz Rola.Andy Murray reacts after winning a point against Blaz Rola.

The champagne cork that popped before the second point of Andy Murray’s thrashing of Blaz Rola may have been a little premature, but the defending Wimbledon champion has already thrown down the gauntlet to his rivals.

The home favourite’s 6-1 6-1 6-0 second-round victory was his 15th consecutive win at the All England Club since his tear-jerking defeat by Roger Federer in the 2012 final – and probably the easiest.

Rola rolled over and far more stubborn foes await Murray as he seeks to retain the title he won in memorable fashion a year ago against Novak Djokovic, starting with Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round.

A year after a day of mayhem that saw seeds stumble and fall in all directions on what became known as Wipeout Wednesday, it proved a less dramatic third day this time.

But there were still some notable upsets.

Spain’s David Ferrer, seeded seventh, lost a five-setter to rising Russian Andrey Kuznetsov for his earliest grand slam exit since the 2010 Australian Open.

In the women’s draw, eighth seed Victoria Azarenka, just back from a foot injury, was knocked out by Bojana Jovanovski 6-3 3-6 7-5.

Five-time champion Venus Williams moved on serenely, however, reaching the third round of a major for the first time in 18 months by beating Kurumi Nara 7-6 6-1.

Illness and injuries have robbed Williams of some of her powers in recent years, but the 30th seed is determined to keep her sister, world no.1 Serena, company in the singles this year.

“I guess I haven’t held up my end of the bargain,” the 34-year-old said of her struggles.

“I tried. I just haven’t had the luck I’ve wanted.”

She will face 2011 champion Petra Kvitova next after the powerful Czech hurried past Germany’s Mona Barthel 6-2 6-0.

Murray’s early defeat at the warm-up tournament at nearby Queen’s Club raised a few doubts over his form coming into Wimbledon, but those were cast aside in less than 90 minutes.

The 27-year-old treated fans on Court One to some delightful shot-making, whether a backhand pummelled on the line, a delicate lob or the grass-hugging slices that have driven far better opponents than Rola to distraction.

“Getting games finished quickly helps,” Murray said after coming off court.

Tomas Berdych was made to work far harder against Australian Bernard Tomic. The Czech prevailed in four sets, as he did when the pair met in the last 16 last year, winning 4-6 7-6 7-6 6-1.

Djokovic survives

Djokovic showed that Wimbledon was no place for a 35-year-old warrior as he beat battle-scarred Czech Radek Stepanek 6-4 6-3 6-7 7-6 in a hugely entertaining contest to reach the third round.

Bidding to become the oldest man to reach the third round at the All England Club since 2007, Stepanek tried practically every shot known to mankind as he tried to topple the top seed.

His lunging forehands drew wild applause, his silky volleys had the purists purring and his crowd-pleasing shot-selection left fans hollering but all Stepanek had to show for his efforts was a bloodied right knee and the memories of a standing ovation.

By dousing the antics of a man who entertained Wimbledon for more than three hours, Djokovic set up a third round meeting with Frenchman Gilles Simon.

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