Ivanisevic jells after 3 years

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Goran Ivanisevic waited three years to play one match. It was everything he hoped it would be.
Ivanisevic is back at Wimbledon for the first time since winning the title as a wild card in 2001.
After missing the tournament the past two years with injuries, he can still claim to be a "defending" champion.
The 32-year-old Croat picked up where he left off -- slamming aces, hamming it up for the crowd, blowing kisses and winning in straight sets Monday on Centre Court.
"Beautiful," he said after beating Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Ivanisevic hasn't lost a match at Wimbledon in four years. After beating Pat Rafter in a dramatic five-set final for his first and only Grand Slam title, he missed the 2002 tournament after left shoulder surgery and pulled out in 2003 after knee surgery.
This, his 15th career Wimbledon, will be his final tournament of any kind.
And he's making the most of it.
"I just came here to say good-bye and have fun," Ivanisevic said. "If I win a couple of matches, it's great. If not, it's also great."
Shows promise
The way he looked on the opening day, who knows how far he could go?
Ivanisevic, who has won only two matches in nine tournaments this year, looked like the Goran of old, whipping left-handed serves, volleying with authority and ripping baseline shots.
He said he doesn't expect to win the tournament, and would be happy just to get to the second week.
"If I play well, nobody's going to beat me easy, especially since I don't have any goals," he said. "I'm going to enjoy myself every minute on the court. If somebody wants to beat me, he's going to have to play really good tennis."
Ivanisevic was given the honor of following Roger Federer, last year's champion, for the second match on Centre Court. It was the first time he'd played a first-round match on the sport's most famous stage.
"When I saw this crowd, I thought, 'That was worth it for these two years: struggling, doing therapy, all kinds of therapy, being up and down,' " he said. "It was worth it to fight and come back and be today on Centre Court."
Played well
Ivanisevic hit 13 aces, 17 volley winners and plenty of non-returnable baseline shots. He broke three times and never lost serve. Luck was on his side, too, with several net cords going his way. He suggested the gods of Wimbledon were behind him.
"They still want me to play here," he said.
Ivanisevic's next match, against Italian Filippo Volandri, almost certainly won't be on Centre Court.
"If I play like this, I can play here in the parking [lot]," he said.
Ivanisevic paid tribute to another former champion making an emotional Wimbledon comeback. Nine-time champion Martina Navratilova, 47 and playing singles here for the first time in 10 years, served and volleyed to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Colombia's Catalina Castano in 46 minutes.
"I cannot compare myself to her," Ivanisevic said. "She is another level. She is from another planet. She is one of the few women tennis players I respect. ... She's my hero."
Navratilova is the oldest woman to win a singles match at Wimbledon since Britain's Madeline O'Neill reached the third round in 1992 at 54.
"It's great to be out there, great to have that opportunity," Navratilova said. "When people say, 'Why are you doing it?' I guess the answer is, because I still can, bottom line."
Dulko is next
Her next match will be against Argentine Gisela Dulko, the 19-year-old who beat her in straight sets last month in the first round of the French Open.
The first day also featured another Wimbledon staple: rain. There were four delays in all; six matches weren't completed and 18 never started.
In between rain drops, Federer opened defense of his title with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 victory over British wild card Alex Bogdanovic. It was the Swiss star's 18th straight win on grass, the longest streak since Pete Sampras won 23 in a row from Wimbledon in 1998 to Queen's in 2000.
Another former men's champion, 2002 winner Lleyton Hewitt, beat Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. Venus Williams, champion in 2000 and 2001, swept 106th-ranked Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian of Switzerland 6-3, 6-0.
Venus' sister, two-time defending champion Serena, was paired in the first round Tuesday against China's Zheng Jie. Serena, who hasn't won a Grand Slam title in a year, could become only the third woman in the past 35 years to win three consecutive Wimbledon championships.
No. 4 Amelie Mauresmo and No. 7 Jennifer Capriati also were scheduled to play today.
In men's play, second-seeded Andy Roddick was matched against Wang Yeu-Tzuoo of Taiwan, and No. 5 Tim Henman against Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo of Spain.