Fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko tumbled out of Wimbledon at the first hurdle, beaten in straight sets by Germany's Benjamin Becker.

A break of serve in each set was enough to give Becker a 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory on Court Two and maintain Davydenko's dismal record at the All England Club.

The Russian becomes the highest ranked player to be eliminated in this year's first round.

It was Davydenko's fifth first-round exit in seven visits to Wimbledon - his best run coming last year when he made it through to the last 16.

However, it was back business as usual on Court Two today as Becker - hardly brimming with grand slam pedigree having lost in the first round of his last six majors - made a mockery of Davydenko's lofty ranking.

The German seized control of the match from the start, serving consistently and never once losing his advantage as he marched into the second round.

"Losing my serve in first, second and the third sets... it doesn't matter against who I play, I need to play well. I need to have my serve going well and the return also needs to be as good as possible but today my return was really bad," Davydenko said.

(source)