Djokovic Savors Opening Day Honors on Centre Court Being a defending champion at Wimbledon has its perks - none bigger than the honor of playing the opening match on the freshly manicured lawn of Centre Court. Despite slipping on the slick grass and falling behind early in the first set, Novak Djokovic quickly gained his footing and played the commanding tennis that took him to his first Wimbledon title and vaulted him to the No. 1 ranking that he still holds. Last year, after beating Rafael Nadal in the final, Djokovic grabbed some blades of grass and stuffed them into his mouth. This time, he celebrated quietly after defeating another Spaniard, dropping just seven games in a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win Monday over former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero. "It's a very unique feeling," Djokovic said of stepping onto the sport's most famous stage at 1 p.m. as reigning champ. I think that's the first time I experienced that in my career. I think this is the only tournament that actually allows you to have information when you're playing 12 months in advance. Following his loss to Nadal in the French Open final two weeks ago that ended the Serb's 27-match winning streak at Grand Slams, Djokovic came to Wimbledon without any grass-court preparation. He got off to a shaky start and lost serve to fall behind 2-1, but broke right back and took complete command. Maria Sharapova of Russia returns a shot during a first round women's singles match against Anastasia Rodionova of Australia at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Monday, June 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus) Close "The grass was untouched," he said. It was soft, so smooth. It was great to play in. The atmosphere, too, was special when he came onto the court. "It is quieter than the other center courts of the other Grand Slams," Djokovic said. But you feel that tradition and the history of tennis, of sport, in this tournament, especially Centre Court. So many legends have won the trophies here, the trophies that made them big tennis stars. While Djokovic paid tribute to the tradition, he also pulled off a very untraditional bit of gimmickry: taking a golf club with him onto the court. As part of an inside joke with a sponsor, he pulled a club out of his racket bag and put it on the sideline when he arrived to face Ferrero. "It was a little funny thing," said Djokovic, whose racket maker gave him a bag that has posts to make it stand like a golf bag. Being creative, that's all. But fans corrected me right away. They said, 'This is not a golf course.' I said, 'OK.' Djokovic has won four of the past six Grand Slam tournaments, breaking up what had been the two-man dominance of Nadal and Roger Federer. The three players have combined to win 28 of the past 29 major titles. "There is not anymore advantages in ... my favor, Rafa's, Roger's, whenever we are playing each other on any surface," Djokovic said. We're all kind of equal, in a way. I think we have equal, 50-50, chances to win. Day 1 passed off without a single rain delay, a relief after one of the wettest Junes on record in Britain. Other winners included six-time champion Federer, top-seeded Maria Sharapova, four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters and No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska. Five-time champion Venus Williams lost and won't be playing in the second round at Wimbledon for the first time since her debut at the All England Club in 1997. The highest seeded player to fall was No. 6 Tomas Berdych, the 2010 runner-up who lost 7-6 (5) 7-6 (4) 7-6 (4) to 87th-ranked Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.