London — Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were both gifted places in the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday as their opponents cried off with injuries, while top women’s seed Angelique Kerber made a confident start to her bid to return to the final. Federer began his campaign for a record eighth Wimbledon title with ease when opponent Alexandr Dolgopolov quit with an injury in the second set. Third seed Federer was 6-3 3-0 ahead when the Ukrainian retired from the match on centre court with an ankle injury after just 43 minutes. "It feels great to be back on centre court," said the Swiss player, who recorded his 85th match win at the All England Club, passing the mark he shared with Jimmy Connors. Djokovic’s opponent, Martin Klizan, was forced to retire after just 40 minutes due to a calf problem. Djokovic, a three-time Wimbledon champion, was leading 6-3 2-0 at the time. The Serb will face Adam Pavlasek of the Czech Republic for a place in the last 32. "He had issues walking on to c...

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