Roger Federer began his quest for a record-extending ninth Wimbledon men's singles title with a routine win over Serbia's Dusan Lajovic.

Federer, who is 37 in August, won 6-1 6-3 6-4 against the world number 57.

The Swiss was in imperious form as he continued the tradition of the defending men's champion opening up Monday's play on Centre Court.

Federer will play either Slovakia's world number 73 Lukas Lacko or France's Benjamin Bonzi - ranked 284th - next.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion needed just 79 minutes to see off Lajovic, who also lost in straight sets to Federer at Wimbledon last year.

Federer shows why he is still the favourite

Federer is celebrating a notable milestone at the All England Club this year: his 20th consecutive appearance in the main draw, the first man to do so.

And the eight-time champion is still deemed the man to beat.

Federer is the top seed as he continues to defy the ageing process and logic, helped by his decision to skip the entire clay-court season to focus on the Championships.

After returning to the tour with victory at Stuttgart, and then reaching the Halle final, he looked refreshed as he breezed past Lajovic.

"There are matches where you know you have to bring your A game. And there are matches where you practice and bring your C game, maybe even D game. That is what this looked like," Boris Becker, a three-time Wimbledon champion, told BBC Sport.

A packed Centre Court was dominated by Federer fans - wearing branded hats and clothing, faces painted with Swiss flags - as every winner was greeted with raucous cheers.

Federer was dominant on serve, winning 93% of his first serve points and taking five of his 11 break points, as he extended his run without dropping a set to 23.

Lajovic only won 12 points as Federer claimed the first set in just 21 minutes and, although he improved in the final two sets, he was not allowed a chance to break his illustrious opponent's serve.

"I'm very happy," Federer told BBC Sport. "I felt good from the start, which was not the case against him last year.

"I felt at home."