WIMBLEDON, England -- One game away from a first-round exit to Roger Federer, Dominik Hrbaty decided that if couldn't beat his old friend, he may as well join him.

The 30-year-old Slovakian player walked over to Federer's side during the last changeover and sat down next to him for a joke and quick chat.

When the pair went back on court somebody in the Centre Court crowd yelled: "Give him a break!" Federer looked over his shoulder, shrugged, then served out for a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win.

"We are great friends, we've had a lot of good times together. I just wanted to tell him he's a great friend of mine and I appreciate that," Hrbaty said. "It's quite unusual, but because we've known each other for such a long of time (since) when he was younger ... we've done a lot of crazy stuff together."

Federer admitted he was a little startled when Hrbaty sidled up in the chair beside him.

"Yeah. I looked over and there he was," Federer said, smiling as he retold the story. "He asked if he could sit next to me. I said, 'Sure. There's no problem. There's an extra seat."'

Federer was 0-2 against Hrbaty going into the match, losing their previous matches on hard court and carpet in 2000 and 2004. On grass, Hrbaty was no match and Federer needed only 1 hour, 19 minutes to extend his winning streak on the green lawns to 60.

Hrbaty was playing his 12th straight Wimbledon tournament and had some experience in the opening match on Centre Court: he lost to Pete Sampras in the first match in 1998.

The 26-year-old Swiss star even gave Hrbaty credit for helping him learn the ropes on the professional tour.

"We go way back. Used to play doubles together. Used to practice a lot together," Federer said. "He taught me also a little bit how you're supposed to practice because I was a little bit weak in the beginning of my men's career -- I couldn't practice real hard, so he sort of showed me how it works."

Turns out Hrbaty, who had a career-high ranking of 12 but has slipped to No. 273 after a series of operations on his shoulder and elbow, was a bit psychic.

"He always said if I ever beat him in practice I'd probably be No. 1 in the world," Federer recalled. "That's exactly how it went. We've had always good fun together. He said it might be his last Wimbledon, so it was almost a little bit emotional ... it's nice to share that moment on Centre Court."

Odd & ends

William Hill cut its odds from 8-to-1 to 3-to-1 after seeing the forecast.

Only five tournaments have been rain free: 1931, 1976, 1977, 1993 and 1995.

The last time play had to be scheduled on the middle Sunday -- the traditional rest day -- was in 2004, although it was only narrowly avoided an extremely wet tournament last year.

Bad weather has forced the tournament into a third week 17 times, but not since 2001.

William Hills is rating Andy Murray a 20-1 shot to win this year -- no British player has won the men's title at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936. The 22-year-old Scot could meet No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.

"A British winner at Wimbledon would be a disaster for the bookies but much like the weather things are looking pretty sunny on both fronts," company spokesman Rupert Adams said.

In other betting, actor Sean Connery is even-money to appear at some stage in the Royal Box on Centre Court.

Price hike

A punnet of strawberries served with fresh cream is selling for $4.50, up 50 cents on last year's price. The previous rise was 10 cents in 2003.

The tournament says for ultimate freshness, the grade one English strawberries are picked in nearby Kent shortly before dawn the day before they're up for sale at the All England Club.

The healthy option is still a cheap one, comparatively. A small tub of ice cream was selling for $6 and a medium tub was going for $9. A luxury cushion, on sale in between the Centre Court and Court 1, will set spectators back $30.