2012 London Summer Olympics

[ Check Out Stunning Pictures from the Opening Ceremony ]

If it's London, rain cannot be far behind.

On a day when persistent downpour sent the Olympic Games organizers into a tizzy and the schedule haywire, Britain's famous son, fourth seed Andy Murray, took Wimbledon center court and beat Switzerland's flag-bearer Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round.

Three weeks after losing to Roger Federer in his maiden Wimbledon final, the 25-year-old was back at the same venue, playing his repertoire of strokes to overwhelm his opponent 6-3, 6-3. Murray will next meet either Finland's Jarkko Nieminen or India's Somdev Devvarman in the next round.

Wawrinka still has a chance to win a medal at the Games, when he pairs his famous compatriot Federer men's doubles. There was no shortage of inspiration for Wawrinka, who was being watch from the stands by FedEx but Murray had the backing of the entire center court.

In one of the biggest first round upsets, women's second seed from Poland, Agnieszka Radwanska, bowed out of singles competition in the first round, losing to little-known German Julia Goerges 7-5, 6-7, 6-4 under the center court roof.

Radwanska's hopes of a medal now hinge on the doubles where she will pair with her sibling, Urszula, in the opening match against Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova and Dominika Cibulkova.

French Open winner Maria Sharapova crushed Israel's Shahar Peer 6-2, 6-0, while Serbia's Novak Djokovic, the second seed, overcame Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-7 (7/9), 6-2, 6-2.

Sharapova had missed the Beijing Games with injury but she became all the more determined in her decimation of Peer. The 25-year-old pinup girl, the flag-bearer of Russia, will take on Britain's Laura Robson or Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic for a place in the pre-quarterfinals.

A beaming Sharapova said after the match that the feeling to finally start in the Games was awesome. "I was waiting for this moment since I was a little girl," she was quoted as telling the media.

 

 

Tennis: Murray Tops Wawrinka at Summer Games; Radwanska Falls to Goerges