Federer vs Lajovic: Swiss ace set for swift success

Roger Federer looked in good nick during a brief opening match at Wimbledon and is expected to make short work of Dusan Lajovic in round two, even without any injury interventions.

The seven-time champion cleared his first hurdle at SW19 for the 15th consecutive year after opponent Alexandr Dolgopolov retired during the second set when trailing 6-3 3-0. That victory also saw the 35-year-old move ahead of Jimmy Connors with his 85th match win at this tournament – the most of the open era.

There was enough time for Federer to fire down 10 aces, hit 18 winners and break three times, providing clear evidence of his sharpness on Centre Court.

This will be the first occasion the Swiss ace has faced his Serbian foe and we like 3/4 for the favourite to oblige by more than 8.5 games in our Federer vs Lajovic betting tips.

Lajovic lacks Grand Slam pedigree

Lajovic enjoyed a smooth 6-4 6-4 6-4 success against Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas on Tuesday but has previously looked out of his depth at the highest level.

The 27-year-old was crushed 6-2 6-2 6-3 by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open and has only one win from five past trips to Wimbledon.

Lajovic did manage to beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez here in 2014 and has taken at least one set off Tommy Haas and Dustin Brown in the last couple of years.

However, earlier qualifying defeats against James Duckworth and Jimmy Wang hardly augur well for this clash with one of the greatest grass-court players of all time.

Federer’s ability to break a decent foe in Dolgopolov early on suggests 7/5 for the opening set to last less than nine games could be another option worth considering.

For those eyeing a slightly bigger price, Federer is 33/10 to register a 6-2 scoreline in the first set.