Davenport broke Jidkova in the first game, and the American had soon raced into a commanding 3-0 lead.

The Russian, ranked 80th in the world, seemed to have no answer to Davenport’s crashing serve, which topped 100mph more than once.

She did, however, manage to pull back to deuce in game four following strong winning returns down the line.

A double fault by the American then handed Jidkova the chance of a break – but a couple of inspired cross-court forehands from Davenport soon restored order and she closed out the first set 6-0 in just 19 minutes.

The Russian finally managed to get a game on the board at the start of the second set, but soon found herself trailing again as the 29-year-old stepped up a gear, breaking serve at the first opportunity.

After then holding her own serve with another display of power tennis from the baseline, the American was in total command at 3-1.

Jidkova, 28, dug deep to try to pull herself back into the match, but Davenport’s superior cross-court play was just too precise as she recovered from love 30 to win the next game.

It was academic now, as Davenport treated the Centre Court crowd to a vintage display to suggest she could have a major say in the destination of this year’s title.

A rare ace from Jidkova, however, brought a rousing applause from the crowd as the Russian held her next service game, to love.

But it was only delaying the inevitable, as Davenport secured soon the set 6-2, again making full use of her superior cross-court play, for a comfortable straight-sets victory.