Fourth seed Roger Federer buried his Wimbledon demons on Monday after beating South Korea's Lee Hyung-taik 6-3 6-3 7-6 in the first round on Monday.
Despite having a game naturally suited to grass, the talented Swiss had only once made it past the opening round in his four previous visits.
That was in 2001, when he upset seven-times champion Pete Sampras in the fourth round before losing in the quarters.
Since then the 21-year-old has been tagged the next Sampras, only to fail miserably on the big stage.
Having succumbed in the first round of the French Open and Wimbledon last year, Federer was yet again an opening-round casualty at Roland Garros last month.
"It was a difficult first round and I'm happy to make it in three because it got quite tight in the end," said a clearly relieved Federer.
Though defending champion Lleyton Hewitt was knocked out earlier on Monday, Federer remained realistic about his Wimbledon chances.
"I saw what happened to Lleyton before I walked on court but obviously it happened to me last year so I know how it feels," said the Swiss, who had been scheduled to meet Hewitt in the semis.
"I now may have a bigger chance but I can't think about winning the tournament now as there's a long way to go.
"Lleyton may be out but there are plenty of other favourites around."

TRACK RECORD
Federer, who lost to Mario Ancic 12 months ago, was determined to improve his All England Club track record on Monday against the 55th-ranked South Korean.
Approaching the net at every opportunity, he took the opening set in 24 minutes after unleashing an unreturnable serve on his first set point.
But Federer faltered at the start of the second and allowed Lee to take a 3-1 lead.
Federer cut back on his unforced errors to break back and clinch the second set.
The Swiss, who claimed his first grasscourt title in Halle eight days ago, appeared to be cruising to a straightforward win in the third.
Closing out the match, however, proved to be tricky. The world number five failed to convert seven match points during the third set as Lee unleashed an flurry of forehand and volley winners to stay alive.
With Lee refusing to back down, the match went into a tiebreak.
Having hung around for more than 20 minutes after earning his first match point, Federer finally booked his place in the second round on his eighth attempt after a Lee crosscourt shot sailed wide.