By DAP,
London: Five-time champion and second seed Venus Williams moved quickly on the longest day of the year, taking an opening victory over Rossana De Los Rios 6-3, 6-2 in less than an hour to reach the second round at Wimbledon.
Williams and her top-seeded sister Serena have won eight of the last 10 editions at the All England club, with Serena winning an all-sister final a year ago.
Fourth seed Jelena Jankovic saw off a teenaged British Wimbledon women’s challenge with her 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) first-round dispatch of Laura Robson, while French Open winner Francesca Schiavone failed to recreate her Paris magic.
The number five Italian who won Paris at age 29 a fortnight ago was humbled to end her brief grass season with two defeats, losing to Russian Vera Dushevina 6-7 (0-7), 7-5, 6-1.
“It was a tough match on a different surface, different feeling,” said the clay champion. “She played very good and I didn’t take my chances in the second set.”
Jankovic moved into the second round as the Serb played her first match on grass, coming in without a warm-up after Roland Garros.
Jankovic said she had to steel herself against a home crowd favourite and former junior winner. “She’s a young player with nothing to lose. She had the crowd behind her.”
“I’m happy I was able to get through. I had ups and downs but as my first match so I couldn’t expect something special.”
Kim Clijsters returned to Wimbledon for the first time since 2006 and routed Italian Maria Elena Camerin 6-0, 6-3 in a winning return to Grand Slam grass.
The eighth-seeded Belgian, who came back last summer after a hasty retirement and then won the US Open, was untroubled in victory.
French number 11 Marion Bartoli produced a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of German Julia Goerges and Russian 12th seed Nadia Petrova accounted for another German as she put out Tatjana Malek 6-4, 6-3.
On the men’s side, Roger Federer’s five-set comeback win over Alejandro Falla 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), 6-0 dominated the programme.
Russian Nikolay Davydenko, seeded seventh, also performed heroics from two sets to love down, following the winning Federer template with a defeat of Kevin Anderson 3-6, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 9-7 only a few weeks after returning from a broken wrist.
Three-time finalist and fifth seed Andy Roddick rushed through over Rajeev Ram 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, while German Florian Mayer upset Croatian 11th seed Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1).
Lleyton Hewitt, 2002 champion and 15th seed, recovered after losing the opening set to Argentine Maximo Gonzalez 5-7, 6-0, 6-2, 6-2.