Patrick Rafter was not at his best but had enough know-how to dispose of British number three Jamie Delgado in the first round at Wimbledon yesterday.

Rafter looked slightly sluggish in only his second grand slam since dropping out of the US Open last September with a shoulder injury but came through to win 6-3, 7-6, 6-1.

The popular Australian, a resident of Bermuda, showed few signs of the rotator cuff problem that kept him sidelined on the singles front until the end of February, stretching reasonably freely for overheads on both sides.

And Rafter said afterwards the shoulder was in excellent condition, although he was making no predictions for his propects at Wimbledon, where he was a semi-finalist last year.

"It was a good game to get through,'' he said. "It was the first time I've had a hit at Wimbledon this year and the courts are very different from the grass ones I was playing in Holland last week.

"The shoulder was very encouraging. It's fun to feel good on the court again.

I know it's going to hold up.

"There's no guarantee it's going to be there in three years, but I'm just hoping to get through the next couple of weeks.'' Rafter admitted his enforced absence from the game had made things harder for him, but he denied he had lost his hunger for the Grand Slams.

"Maybe there are some players who are looking at me as someone who is more vulnerable than I used to be, I'm someone to pick on more. But that's OK. I've got to go out there and prove I'm on the up again.'' While Rafter, voted one of the world's top 10 eligible bachelors by a magazine three years ago, was competing on number three court, his Australian doubles partner at the Bermuda XL Open, Paul Kilderry, went down to Swede Magnus Gustafsson, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.

Rafter has hinted at retirement in the not too distant future but the will to win still seemed to be there as he once, uncharacteristically, smashed his racket on the ground when he missed a regulation volley and then swiped it through the air after an attempted lob went wide.

Rafter must be one of the few overseas players who gets as much support from the fans, if not more, than the Briton when he is playing a home player.

It has ever been thus since Rafter made his debut at these championships as a 20-year-old in 1993 and immediately built up a following of young girls on his way to the third round.

Rafter broke Delgado's first service game to advance to a rapid 3-0 lead and held on to win that set 6-3, but a cagey second set went to a tie-breaker.

Rafter's renowned all-action game was little in evidence as the Briton slowed the game down and made Rafter slug it out from the baseline and choose selectively his approaches to the net.

Rafter had a set point for a 2-0 lead in a breathtakingly close tie-breaker and Delgado grabbed one for himself before he double-faulted to lose it 7-9.

The game began to flow a bit more easily for the Australian after that as he broke Delgado's first service game of the third set and with it the Briton's remaining spirit.

Meanwhile, Bermuda Open winner Andrew Illie went out to Byron Black of Zimbabwe, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, 6-0. More on page 15.