Wimbledon, England ? All the ingredients were in place for Andy Roddick to throw a tantrum Wednesday at Wimbledon.

Struggling against someone ranked 101st, gesturing and muttering after miscues, Roddick already had lost one set and was dangerously close to dropping a second when he thought a line call was missed.

He flung his racket toward the chair umpire and walked over. The crowd hushed in anticipation. And then … nothing. Roddick bit his tongue, resumed playing, worked his way out of trouble and beat Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-2, with the help of 28 aces to avoid yet another first-round upset at a major.

“I pump-faked the argument with the umpire,” the No. 3-seeded Roddick said with a smile. “I just tried to calm down as much as possible. I reminded myself that talking to him probably wasn’t going to change anything at that point.”

That he found himself in such a tough, nearly three-hour match set him apart from all of the top women, who one by one breezed through their assignments.

Three-time champion Venus Williams, 2004 champion Maria Sharapova and No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo each worked less than an hour to win first-round matches, none losing more than two games. Five-time major winners Justine Henin-Hardenne and Martina Hingis were similarly dominant in reaching the third round.

Several were asked whether such lopsided matches hurt the push for equal prize money at Wimbledon, the only Grand Slam event that pays the women’s singles champion less than the men’s. Even British Prime Minister Tony Blair weighed in on the topic Wednesday, telling the House of Commons he supported the idea of equal pay.

Andy Roddick returns a shot from Janko Tipsarevic. Roddick won the four-set match Wednesday at Wimbledon, England.

“We aren’t involved in arguing the points of time spent on court, sets played,” said Williams, who wrote a column on the subject for an English newspaper. “That’s a moot topic. What it’s really about is being treated equal as a human being.”

On the court, Williams was as good as she gets for stretches against Bethanie Mattek of the United States, compiling a 26-3 edge in winners and erasing the only break point she faced with a 108 mph ace.

Tim Henman, a four-time Wimbledon semifinalist, wasn’t seeded for the first time in 10 years and had the misfortune of facing Roger Federer. That lasted for all of 85 minutes, as three-time champion Federer overwhelmed Henman, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2, for his record 43rd consecutive victory on grass.