TENNIS:RAFAEL NADAL arrived in yesterday, having missed the rain, and told outrageous porkies. After outmuscling Texas beefcake Michael Russell, the two-times winner offered a bleak view of this year's tournament, one only he held.

“Let’s talk about today. Let’s talk about tomorrow,” he said after beating the man they call ‘Mussell’, ‘Wheels’ and ‘Iron Mike’ 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. “Let’s not talk about in 10 days or 12 days because I don’t know if I am here or I am fishing in Mallorca.”

For a player who turns his water bottles to face the same direction, you feel he knows much. Although, in part he may be right and after Novak Djokovic took the invincible veneer off his armour on clay this season, the 25-year-old may be looking more vulnerable than in previous championships.

Beware the wounded champion is a reasonable adage to borrow and in microcosm that was highlighted after 28 minutes in to the first defence of his Wimbledon crown on Centre Court.

Nadal didn’t get to defend his debut championship win in 2008 because of injury. Midway through the first set ‘Wheels’ broke the famous serve for a 4-2 lead. The effrontery of the 91st-ranked player perked up Centre Court, who were expecting something of a procession from Nadal.

The tradition has been that the world number one, like Roger Federer and other champions, deep down expect their first-round opponents to arrive on a tumbril, while the Centre Court crowd tend to their knitting and cackle as heads are loped off.

Barely 17 minutes later, the gory end to ‘Iron Mike’ was in full swing. Nadal went swinging, slicing and chopping with his own celebrated muscle pack as Russell in the end fell meekly 6-4 to the man who has only ever lost four matches here, two of those in the final.

Nadal may or may not have realised that Russell is best known for twice relinquishing two-set leads in Grand Slam tournaments against former champions.

In the fourth round of the 2001 French Open – his best run at a Grand Slam – against defending and eventual champion Gustavo Kuerten, Russell led two sets to love and 5-3 in the third set and also missed a match point.

In the 2000 Australian Open, he held a two sets to love lead over former US Open and Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt before succumbing in five sets. Possibly that trend was set in stone as Nadal raised his game and spent just an hour and 12 minutes taking the third and fourth sets 6-2 6-2.

“I started, in my opinion, trying to play too fast in the beginning,” said Nadal. “I had a few mistakes with the backhand and then the forehand. So he had the break.”

Nadal faces America’s Ryan Sweeting in round two. Again, caution entered the conversation. He wasn’t exactly going fishing back home but Ryan is sweet in name only. Ranked 67th in the world was enough to invite Nadal into one of his humble remarks.

“I think he’s a good player,” he said. “I have to play aggressive. That hopefully will be enough. If not congratulate the player.”

If only it were that simple.

The rain put paid to all of the matches that would have started late in the afternoon. While the roofed Centre Court continued to delight the crowd, there were a few tidy wins to send some of the bigger names through early.

Gael Monfils chopped and diced Germany’s Matthias Bachinger in straight sets, the lithe, rangy Frenchman sweeping into the second round 6-4 7-6 6-3.

It was a good day for compatriots as Richard Gasquet, owner of a backhand as sweet as anyone on the circuit, saw off Colombian Santiago Giraldo 7-5 6-3 7-6, while Mardy Fish also beat Spain’s Marcel Granollers in straight sets.

Andy Murray caused some consternation under lights on Centre Court in the final match to be completed on day one.

The Scot, who has come into the tournament playing some of the best grass court tennis of his career, fell in the first set to Daniel Gimeno-Traver from Spain. That was not in the script.

Murray tumbled 4-6 in a 43-minute first set in which he looked hesitant and guarded, not the championship contender he had been written up to be.

But once he found his stride there was little the Spaniard could do. Much better in the second set, Murray levelled by winning it 6-3 before accelerating away in uncompromising fashion.

The final two sets took just 46 minutes as the world number four turned Gimeno-Traver over 6-0 6-0 in a match in which he moved from lame to towering and then dominant.