June 27, 2006	Tuesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 30, 1427

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LONDON, June 26: Roger Federer's bid for a fourth successive Wimbledon crown got off to a whirlwind start on Monday only to be stalled by the notoriously fickle London weather.

Play was abandoned for the day at 1820 GMT because of persistent rain.

The world number one looked as if he had never been away from centre court as he claimed a service break in the second game of his first round match with Frenchman Richard Gasquet and went on to claim the first set 6-3 in just 26 minutes.

But with Federer about to serve at 1-2 in the second, rain forced the players back to the locker room and play was suspended.

Victory in the final here on July 9, the same day as the World Cup final, would see Federer become the third man, after Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras, to win four consecutive titles at the All England club.

The Swiss began the tournament as an overwhelming favourite given the way he has dominated for the last three years.

There is nevertheless a feeling among many in the sport that he may be more vulnerable this year after a gruelling, but ultimately unsuccessful bid to win the French Open earlier this month.

Federer was narrowly beaten by Rafael Nadal in the final at Roland Garros and -- although he was still good enough to win the tournament -- appeared jaded as he made his first outing of the year on grass at Halle, Germany.

Victory in Halle extended Federer's unbeaten run on grass to 41 matches, taking him level with Borg's all-time mark.

It is a sequence which included a very tight match against Gasquet which had given the Frenchman hope of upsetting the odds at Wimbledon.

The 20-year-old continued his fine form by winning the Nottingham Open for a second consecutive year on Saturday and said prior to Monday's match he felt he was in with a chance.

“At Halle, I had four set points in the first, won the second and only lost 6-4 in the third,” he recalled.

“This is a Grand Slam, it's on the centre court at Wimbledon, so it won't be easy to beat him. But I have a chance, I know I am getting back to my best.”Federer, who may well have to face Briton Tim Henman in the second round, had admitted the draw could scarcely have been tougher for a top seed.

“Gasquet should be higher ranked, Tim should be higher ranked. It's a very tough little section. I've definitely got to play very well from the start. I would like to think of Henman's match but first things first.”Unseeded Henman, four times a semi-finalist here, was due to start his 13th Wimbledon campaign against Sweden's Robin Soderling, who was serving at over 200kmh last week in Nottingham.

Venus Williams will begin the defence of her women's singles title on Tuesday. That left centre stage on the opening day to French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne.

After beating her Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters on the way to winning the warm-up event at Eastbourne on Saturday, the diminutive Henin is many people's favourite in what looks to be a wide open's women's tournament.

Henin was due to begin her quest for the only Grand Slam title to have eluded her by taking on China's Yuan Meng.

Over on the court number two, the famous 'graveyard' for so many big names over the years, former champion and world number one Martin Hingis started her first match here in five years in impressive form.

The 25-year-old, who has twice lost in first round matches here, looked unlikely to slip up this year after taking the first set against Ukraine's Olga Savchuk 6-2.—Agencies