Wimbledon 2017: Roger Federer makes short work of Dusan Lajovic in Centre Court masterclass

Underdog Lajovic broke serve in the second game of the match and forced the opening set to a tie-break.

But Federer didn’t drop a single point in the breaker and then raced to victory with ease, completing the third set in just 24 minutes to complete a 7-6 6-3 6-3 win.

"I started slow early on, I couldn't get rid of the nerves and struggled to find my rhythm," Federer told the BBC.

"Even when I got back into it after I broke him I struggled in the first set and I was happy to get rid of those nerves, play free tennis, more inspired, and at the end it was very good."

The Swiss veteran will face Mischa Zverev in the third round.

While Federer's win was comfortable in the end, the seven-time Wimbledon Champion admitted that the nerves he felt early on were more than usual.

"It was definitely more acute than I normally feel it. It was just like all of a sudden I was walking up to the locker room after my warm-up and I was feeling excited and nervous.

"Then when I walked to the court it was still ongoing and after the warm-up it was still there. And down 1-0, 0-40, it was still there, and it was still there at 6-6 in the first set. Just took a while to shake it off."

That Federer still has nervous tension after winning 18 majors is perhaps the strongest argument to suggest he can reclaim the title he last won in 2012.

He is clearly not a man just playing out the last few years of his magnificent career for fun.

"It's weird how sometimes you can be way more nervous for a second round than for a final," he said. "I'm happy I got through this one feeling the way I did, because in a way it's strange playing this way when you're so tense."