Ruud staves off Lokoli to reach Wimbledon second round

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Casper Ruud found his groove on grass after a wobble as the world number four battled past French qualifier Laurent Lokoli 6-1 5-7 6-4 6-3 to reach the Wimbledon second round on Monday and match his best showing at the Grand Slam.

Ruud has finished runner-up at three of the last five Grand Slam tournaments but has not been able to conjure up a deep run at Wimbledon and the 24-year-old showed glimpses of the form that can help him improve his modest record.

"I take every match as an underdog," Ruud said following just his fourth Tour-level match win on grass.

"At Wimbledon, I don't have the perfect game to play on grass but today I did quite well. I consider many other players to do well before myself, so I'm just going to try to play without too much pressure.

"I'm going to enjoy every time I get to step out here on the most beautiful tennis court in the world."

After sealing an early break, the Norwegian took control of the opening set by cranking up the pressure on his 199th-ranked opponent with thunderous forehand winners that echoed inside a cavernous Court One where the roof was closed due to rain.

A deflated Lokoli cracked a smile amid cheers from the crowd after finally getting on the board but Ruud quickly wiped it off his face by wrapping up the set before his level dipped at the start of the next.

"I started great. Laurent maybe was a bit nervous, maybe it's one of the first times he plays on a big court like this," Ruud said.

"Honestly, for me too it was the first time playing on Court One so I was also a bit nervous. But I had a great time."

Wimbledon main draw debutant Lokoli settled his nerves and began to play the tennis that got him through three rounds of qualifying and the animated 28-year-old levelled the match at one set apiece with a decisive break at the end.

Ruud pulled ahead after the seventh game of the see-sawing third set where both players faltered on serve and closed it out with a timely ace before returning to his aggressive best in the next to secure the victory.

"Sometimes on grass it goes quick, some points go away here and there so I tried to stay in there and I was able to serve good enough and break him a couple of times," said Ruud.

"I'm very happy to be through to the second round."

The Roland Garros finalist next plays local wild card Liam Broady who eased past unseeded Frenchman Constant Lestienne.