Federer offers advice to Murray

Defending champion has warning for sidelined Scot after opening victory

Roger Federer has warned Andy Murray not to return to the tour until he is fully fit following his Wimbledon withdrawal.

The two-time champion pulled out on the eve of the tournament after deciding it was too early in his comeback from hip surgery to play best-of-five-set tennis.

The Scot made his return to competitive action at Queen’s Club last month after 11 months out and also played at Eastbourne, beating Federer’s compatriot Stan Wawrinka, who is coming back from knee surgery in January.

Federer, who cruised ito the second round with a straight sets win over Dusan Lajovic, said: “I’m not going to tell him what to play and what not to play.

“I think most important is if he does return, he’s fully fit, because then anything is possible, especially for a former top guy.

“You have it. You don’t forget how to play tennis. It’s like riding a bike or brushing your teeth.

“I think the body just needs to be there. Seems right now it’s not the case. You wonder why did he then play Queen’s and Eastbourne? Only he and his team know.

“That’s the only advice I would give. I’ve realised that, if you do come back too soon, it’s always a problem. I feel like it lingers more. I’m hopeful he’s going to feel better and better as time goes by. If that means he comes back in a month, that’s great. If he comes back in a year, well, so be it.

“I’m hopeful to see a fully fit Andy Murray again. That’s what I care about really as a fellow rival, friend, guy who has been there before. That’s what I’m hopeful for.”

Murray was always cautious about his prospects of playing at the All England Club but did not make the final decision until after a discussion on Sunday with his doctor and support team.

Coach Jamie Delgado told The Wimbledon Channel: “He’s made so much progress in the last six, seven weeks but just didn’t quite feel good enough and strong enough to play again.”

Federer began his quest for a ninth Wimbledon title with a lightning-quick win over Serbia’s Lajovic.

The defending men’s champion was first on Centre Court at 1pm, and an hour and 19 minutes later he had wrapped up a 6-1 6-3 6-4 victory against the world number 58.

Of greater inconvenience to the 20-time grand slam champion seems to be his famous ‘RF’ logo.

Federer unveiled a new Uniqlo kit on Centre Court yesterday, confirming the end of his clothing deal with Nike after more than a decade. The Japanese brand is reported to be paying the Swiss superstar around £22 million a year for the next decade.

Yet missing from his new outfit was Federer’s monogram of his initials which he confirmed is still the property of Nike.

“So the ‘RF’ logo is with Nike at the moment, but it will come to me at some point,” Federer said.

“I hope, rather sooner than later, that Nike can be nice and helpful in the process to bring it over to me. It’s also something that was very important for me, for the fans really.”

Wawrinka came out on top in a heavyweight first-round contest with Grigor Dimitrov.

The former world number three is currently ranked 224th due to his prolonged absence through injury.

Wawrinka needed two operations on his left knee last year and has struggled for form.

But the Swiss was always going to be a dangerous floater in the main draw and so it proved as he beat sixth-seeded Bulgarian Dimitrov 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

Last year’s runner-up Marin Cilic was also a comfortable winner, beating Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan 6-1 6-4 6-4.

The Croatian has designs on another run to the final after blisters put paid to his bid to beat Federer 12 months ago.

“I’m looking at last year’s experience as a positive one and the one that I can learn from especially in my psychological approach to the match,” Cilic said.

American Sam Querrey, a semifinalist last year, fired 15 aces as he secured a 6-2 6-4 6-3 victory over Australian Jordan Thompson.

Aljaz Bedene received polite applause rather than wild cheers as he recovered from a set down to beat British number two Cameron Norrie.

At almost exactly the same moment a year ago, Bedene was celebrating a five- set win over Ivo Karlovic that generated one of the best atmospheres of the tournament.

But, with Bedene having given up his fight to represent Great Britain in Davis Cup and switched back to representing his native Slovenia, here he found himself on the other side of the coin.

On Court 14 he posted a fine 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 victory.

There was certainly an irony in the 28-year-old Bedene drawing Norrie, who spent his childhood in New Zealand and lives in the United States but qualifies for Britain courtesy of a Scottish father and Welsh mother.

In February, Norrie produced the sort of stunning Davis Cup debut against Spain that Bedene once dreamed of making before the International Tennis Federation put its foot down and refused to budge.

It continued the 22-year-old’s remarkably swift progress from college star little over a year ago to top-100 player now, and he was never out of this contest until Bedene edged over the line.

Milos Raonic won 11 games in a row on his way to beating Britain’s Liam Broady and ninth seed John Isner beat German Yannick Maden, also in straight sets.

British number one Kyle Edmund enters the fray today when he takes on Australian qualifier Alex Bolt.

I think most important is if he does return, he’s fully fit, because then anything is possible.