Roger Federer drew gasps of admiration on Monday as he opened the defence of his Wimbledon crown with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 thrashing of Britain's Alex Bogdanovic.
But it was another unbeaten champion, Goran Ivanisevic, who melted hearts on Centre Court.
Ranked 415 in the world, the rangy Croatian who has been prevented by injury from playing here since winning the title as a wildcard in 2001, beat 31st seed Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 7-6, 6-2.
"Beautiful," he smiled. "It was unbelievable to walk out there today. I have so many good memories of my last match on that court and I played another great match today.
"As soon as you step on that court you can't play bad tennis ... you can be nervous but you can't play bad."
Ivanisevic, who is retiring at the end of these championships, saluted the heavens and blew kisses as the crowd gave him a standing ovation after Youzhny had floated a backhand long to hand him victory after 86 minutes.
Martina Navratilova mixed sentiment with savage aggression when, 10 years after her last singles appearance at Wimbledon, the 47-year-old blasted Colombia's Catalina Castano 6-0, 6-1.
Thirty-one years after her Wimbledon debut, Navratilova -- whose name loosely translates as "comeback" in her native Czech -- produced some vintage serve-volleying to bamboozle an opponent who, at 24, is almost half her age.
"I did (enjoy that). I very much did," she said. "I'm focused, I'm concentrating.
FINALLY RELAXED
"I think I relaxed when it was six-love, five-love... that's when I finally relaxed and that's what happens, I lose a game.
"It's great to be out there, great to have that opportunity. I think, you know, when people say, 'Why are you doing it?' I guess the answer is, because I still can, bottom line."
She will next face Gisela Dulko, the Argentine who whipped her in the French Open first round last month in her return to Grand Slam singles.
On the slick Wimbledon turf, the outcome this time is likely to be very different.
While Navratilova and Ivanisevic turned back the clock, Federer showed a glimpse of the future of men's tennis, beating Bogdanovic on auto-pilot.
The Swiss top seed drew the sting out of the Briton's best shots on an overcast Centre Court, and pummelled countless winners of his own to hammer out his intentions in emphatic style.
"It was important to get off to a good start, and I did that," Federer said. "I soon saw there was not much he could do on my serve.
"I relaxed, played well and am really looking forward to the next one."
The third and final men's champion in this year's draw, Lleyton Hewitt, was also in action.
The Australian suffered a first-round loss last year -- the first men's champion to lose so early since tennis turned professional in 1968 -- but avoided a similar fate on court one with an assured 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over Austria's Juergen Melzer.
"I felt good out there," he said. "I felt like I played the first set pretty well, got out of the blocks well.
"I was happy with where my game was at today. So I can be confident going into the second round now."
Newly-crowned French Open champion Anastasia Myskina made a slick transition to grass, beating Slovakia's Lubomira Kurhajcova 7-5, 6-1.
Seeded second here, the slender Russian overcame a stuttering start to win comfortably in the early evening sunshine.
Third seed Venus Williams started her bid for a third Wimbledon crown with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian of Switzerland.
Venus, who won the women's title in 2000 and 2001 but has been runner-up to her sister Serena in each of the last two finals, used her heavy serve to dominate her 20-year-old opponent, ranked 106 in the world.
"I'm always happy to be back. It's so nice," she said.
"I can play as fast as I want to. Possibly I play even faster here. I don't even have to go for as much placement on my serve.
"I just hit it."
Lindsay Davenport advanced with the minimum of fuss, the fifth seed beating Dally Randriantefy of Madagascar 6-2, 6-1.
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