WIMBLEDON, England — After winning six titles at the All England Club, Roger Federer experienced a new feeling on Centre Court.

The 16-time Grand Slam champion was forced indoors on another rainy day at Wimbledon, and he emerged victorious as usual, beating Adrian Mannarino of France 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 Thursday to reach the third round.

“I think it was nice,” Federer said of playing under the roof. “Honestly, from start to finish it felt the same, even though outside it was getting darker from the light perspective. And then from the movement, it felt like it was outdoors.”

The retractable roof, which was installed before the 2009 tournament, has been rarely used until this week. But it’s already been shut for at least parts of three of the four days this year.

Fifth-seeded Robin Soderling also won on Centre Court, surviving a five-setter against 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, while French Open champion Li Na was eliminated by German wild card Sabine Lisicki. On other courts, four-time champion Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic advanced.

On Friday, defending champion Rafael Nadal is scheduled to play on Court 1 along with five-time titlist Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova. On Centre Court, Andy Murray is to face Ivan Ljubicic in the late match.

Federer ended up playing his match a little later than expected because the two earlier matches both went the distance.

Only minutes after he walked off grass, Federer was already praising the conditions and the crowd.

“The atmosphere was fantastic because they already saw some heavy matches beforehand so I didn’t know how much stamina they had, but once again they showed what great fans they are, that’s why I love playing here,” Federer said. “It’s obviously very nice for me to have such a standing ovation every time.”