Roger Federer's bid for a record 15th Grand Slam title got under way in familiar fashion as the five-times champion crushed Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun.

Roger Federer admits he will begin to feel the weight of history if his bid to break Pete Sampras's Grand Slam record goes the distance at Wimbledon.

Maria Sharapova almost became the first women's top seed in French Open history to lose in the opening round on Wednesday as Rafael Nadal showed her the way to master a Roland Garros sandstorm. Russian golden girl Sharapova toiled for two-and-a-half hours before squeezing past teenage compatriot and world number 104 Evgeniya Rodina 6-1, 3-6, 8-6.