Day 2 Round-up Church Road, London Middlesex England

All together now: breathe in... and relax. That's better. If day one of Wimbledon 2010 was a tad on the breathless side - what with unexpected five-setters and results teetering on the brink of the shocking, not to mention a late night finish - day two was altogether more tranquil. Beneath gorgeous summer sunshine, all was right with the Wimbledon world.

Then again, perhaps Samantha Stosur would not see it that way. On Court 18 the French Open finalist and sixth seed fell to Kaia Kanepi, a qualifier ranked 80th in the world. With Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone going out yesterday, neither of the two women who made up such an unexpected final in France has been able to capitalise on that form here. Another lamented departure was Marcos Baghdatis. The popular Cypriot, seeded 24, went out in four sets to Lukas Lacko of Slovakia, ranked 75.Another high-ranking seed to fall was Fernando Verdasco of Spain. The No.8 seed lost to Fabio Fognini who is ranked 80th in the world.

Yet on the chief show courts, an air of calm prevailed. Serena Williams and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga kicked off matters on Centre and No.1 Court, each coming safely through. Serena made short work of the famously noisy Portuguese Michelle Larcher De Brito, while Tsonga required four hard-fought sets to get past Robert Kendrick.

Rafael Nadal laid down his marker for the tournament with a comprehensive defeat of the promising young Japanese Kei Nishikori on the Centre Court, in a match that was a good deal more intriguing than the straight-sets scoreline suggested. For one thing, Nadal is clearly disproving the theory that his knee injuries would prevent him recapturing his greatest form; and for another, Nishikori is a most interesting prospect from a country not famous for its male tennis stars. The 20-year-old is one to watch.

Domestic fans were in a dither of excitement at the prospect of Andy Murray's first round match. In the first set of his encounter with Jan Hajek, it was not only the summer heat that had Murray's fans in something of a sweat. An early break against the Scot was not what was expected, and he needed a while before finding his Wimbledon feet. But he pulled the set round and subsequently despatched the Czech without further blushes, paving the way for his much-anticipated Centre Court appearance in front of the Queen on Thursday.

In other results, French Open finalist Robin Soderling saw off Robby Ginepri, while last year's Roland Garros winner Svetlana Kuznetsova appeared to be breezing through against Akgul Amanmuradova but eventually needed three tough sets. No such trouble for the women's No.3 seed Caroline Wozniacki as she despatched Tathiana Garbin, while 2004 champion Maria Sharapova dismantled Anastasia Pivovarova.

With the British summer at its most benign, Wimbledon was a beguiling place on day two of the 2010 Championships. The weather is set fair, and the tennis too.