The 2015 Wimbledon kicked off on Monday and tennis superstars Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova showed superb form after defeating their respective opponents in straight sets.

Djokovic, who is looking to win his second consecutive Wimbledon title and third overall at All England Club, shrugged off talks about his playing shape as he scored a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany on Centre Court.

Djokovic did not play in warm-up tournaments following his loss to Stan Wawrinka in the 2015 French Open final, creating speculation that the top-seeded Serb is nursing an injury.

Kohlschreiber was viewed as a huge threat to Djokovic heading into the match, but the two-time Wimbledon champion silenced his critics as he took control for the entire game, tallying 12 services aces and five breaks.

"I had a very tough opponent who can be very tricky on all surfaces. Especially on the grass, he had nothing to lose," Djokovic told reporters, reported ESPN, when asked about his first match. "I just managed to stay composed."

In other key matches, fourth-seeded Wawrinka escaped with a hard-earned 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (3) against Joao Sousa of Portugal in their first-round match, while fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan needed five sets to dispatch Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to the second round.

On the women's side, defending champion Serena Williams also kicked off her title defense on a high note as she scored a 6-4, 6-1 win against qualifier Margarita Gasparyan of Russia.

Williams, who has swept the first two Grand Slam events of the year, was a heavy favorite heading into the match, but the 20-time Grand Slam champion admitted that she had a hard time dealing with Gasparyan.

"I would be lying if I said I had wanted a hard match. But at the end of the day it was definitely good for me," Williams said. "In the first set she actually hit more winners than I did. Usually I'm really quick and I get to those shots but they were so cleanly hit, there was nothing I could do about them."

Maria Sharapova also advanced to the second round after the fourth-seeded Russian cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Johanna Konta of Great Britain in their first-round matchup.

Complete results of Day 1 of the 2015 Wimbledon can be viewed on this link, while match highlights are available on this link.

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