Royalty reigned supreme on Wimbledon's Centre Court yesterday as Roger Federer produced a majestic performance for the watching Prince Charles.

Federer bowed to the heir to the throne before his match and Charles and his wife, Camilla, gave the Swiss maestro a standing ovation after he thrashed Italian Fabio Fognini 6-1 6-3 6-2 to reach the third round in just one hour and 14 minutes.

"We are thrilled for the tennis family that they came to watch today," Federer said after his imperious display.

Two years ago, Queen Elizabeth paid her first visit to Wimbledon since 1977, prompting women's champion Serena Williams to put in some serious practice on her curtseying technique.

As six-time champion, Federer was well aware of the royal etiquette on the world's most famous tennis court. "They do brief you beforehand so that you don't do anything stupid," Federer said. "We were asked to bow, which obviously is no problem."

But Federer did take time in the tunnel leading to Centre Court to explain the procedure to Fognini. They both bowed in perfect unison to Prince Charles, who had in turn received his own standing ovation from fans when he appeared in the royal box above the court.

The match itself was a royal procession for Federer, who never looked in any danger. His glorious groundstrokes and lightning-fast movement across the court were greeted with unbridled admiration from the crowd. The graceful genius was at the peak of his form - except at the very start.

He drew gasps of incredulity when he lost the first two points of the match on his serve but normal service was promptly restored when he fired down two aces.

The Italian became so disheartened at the end of the first set that he did not even bother to try and chase down yet another stinging forehand from Federer. He just walked back to his chair, shoulders slumped.

Federer lost just four points on his serve in the second set and was swift to complete his clinical execution of Fognini in the third. It was a routine day at the office but the third seed has shown he is still very much a contender after dropping just nine games in his first two matches at the tournament he so dearly loves.

"I really tried to focus hard and make sure I played a clean match," Federer said. "I served 13 aces out there today. I felt it was pretty fast."

Federer, who last won the title in 2009, will face either Michael Russell or Julien Benneteau in the third round.

Samantha Stosur became the highest seed to fall at the championships when the Australian was bundled out in the second round by Dutch player Arantxa Rus.

The fifth seed, the only player from the former tennis powerhouse to reach the second round, lost 6-2 0-6 6-4 in a wildly fluctuating match on Court One.

Home fans were treated to early British cheer when Heather Watson became the first British woman to reach the third round of the women's singles since 2002 by beating American Jamie Lee Hampton 6-1 6-4.

Rain delayed play apart from on the covered Centre Court, where unseeded Austrian Tamira Paszek put out seventh seed and former No1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 5-7 7-6(4) 6-4.