Roger Federer was made to work hard as he began the quest for his sixth Wimbledon title by winning the first set of his opening-round match against Chinese Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu.

The former world number one, who had not played competitively since winning the French Open, showed signs of rust when he failed to convert four break points in the fourth game and then lost his own serve in the next.

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Lu, who reached the Wimbledon second round in 2004 and 2005, was proving a troublesome opponent and Federer needed the aid of a freakish net cord to claw back the break before going on to win a tough 48-minute set 7-5.

The trademark confidence was back in the Federer step as he began the second set in superb style, timing the ball better and breaking Lu's serve in the second game.

The serve, too, was heavy but it was the winning backhand pass down the line on the run in the fourth game which announced Federer has arrived at this tournament in a mood of freedom after winning the French Open and equalling Pete Sampras's record of 14 grand glam titles.

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Lu had two break points in the seventh game but could not convert them and Federer took the set 6-3 with a thunderous ace to take command of the match at two sets to love.

The third set again saw Lu make a crucial mistake, dumping an easy volley into the net to hand Federer another break in the third game.

There was one scary moment at 30-15 in the fourth game when Federer took a tumble and seemed to turn his right ankle.

Happily, he was uninjured and rose to make one scintillating running forehand to break serve again in the seventh game before finishing off the set in routine style to win the match 7-5 6-3 6-2 in one hour and 44 minutes, and signal his determination to make yet more history in SW19.