Eight-time champion Roger Federer survived a first-set scare to see off South African debutant Lloyd Harris and reach the Wimbledon second round.

Federer, 37, moved through the gears to win 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 on Centre Court.

After Harris left the crowd stunned by taking the opener, Federer began to find his rhythm and rattled off victory in one hour and 51 minutes.

The Swiss, aiming for a record-extending ninth men’s title, will face Britain’s Jay Clarke next.

Clarke, 20, took his seventh match point to beat American Noah Rubin in four sets, clinching the additional prize of meeting the 20-time Grand Slam champion on Thursday.

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Federer was ‘frozen’ as Harris threatened seismic shock

Harris, 22, was making his debut at Wimbledon – and had never even won a match on grass going into Tuesday’s meeting with arguably the greatest player of all time.

But the world number 86 rocked Federer with blistering serves consistently around 130mph and backed that up with some heaving groundstrokes in a first set which left Centre Court murmuring in disbelief.

After breaking Federer’s serve for a 4-2 lead, Harris confidently sealed the opener in 29 minutes as he threatened to create one of the most seismic shocks ever seen at Wimbledon.

Federer, who had dropped a set in the first round at Wimbledon for the first time since 2010, seemed to lack the assurance which has rarely gone missing in his illustrious career.

“I struggled early on, I felt a bit frozen, my legs weren’t going,” Federer told BBC Sport.

“I felt it was heavy out there, the ball wasn’t going when I was hitting it and he was hitting it big.”

The challenge for Harris was always going to be maintaining his level as Federer started to find more rhythm and make him work harder for his points.

As Federer rediscovered his timing and touch, Harris wildly slashed a forehand wide – with the ball sitting up invitingly for the South African and Federer stricken at the baseline – on a break point for a 3-1 lead to the Swiss.

From that point he could not recover, Federer winning 11 of the next 13 points to level the match and then continue to go through the gears as he broke twice in the third set.

Then it turned into a procession towards victory, with Harris looking like he might have to pull out with a calf injury which left him needing lengthy treatment.

But he refused to quit as Federer began to purr, a dipping, cross-court backhand winner sealing another break early in the fourth for the Swiss as he cruised to his 17th straight first-round win at the All England Club.

“He kept me nervous for a set and a half and I think that break was crucial in the second to turn things around,” Federer said.

“It took a big effort. Lloyd played a good match.”

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