Defending champion Venus Williams eased into the second round at Wimbledon with a straight sets win over Swiss teenager Stefanie Voegele yesterday that represented a tougher workout than the 6-3, 6-2 scoreline suggested.
The American, who is seeking a sixth singles title at the All England Club, had her serve broken twice and had to spend an hour and 18 minutes on center court to set up a second round meeting with Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko.
Voegele, who has only just broken into the world’s top 100, was making her first appearance at Wimbledon and was facing a top 10 opponent for the first time in her fledgling career.
But she quickly demonstrated that she would not be overawed by the situation, a couple of big swings at the most effective serve in women’s tennis earning her a break point in the opening game of the match.
Williams responded with a 117mph winner that underlined why she is the bookmakers’ favorite to win what would be her sixth singles title at the All England Club.
Voegele held serve confidently enough in her opening service game but the champion promptly produced a flurry of winners to help her reel off four games in a row to open up a 5-1 lead.
To her credit, Voegele rallied from that point and she was able to live with the champion until 2-2 in the second, at which point Williams found the additional gear she needed to close out her first competitive match on grass this year.
The 29-year-old admitted she had not quite been at her best but was delighted to be back on the court where she has enjoyed many of the finest moments of her career.
“It is the best place to be when you are a pro tennis player and I savour every blade of it,” she said. “I’ve had that crown for several years and I want to make it mine again.”
Jelena Jankovic reached the second round by beating Julia Goerges 6-4, 7-6 (0).
The former No. 1 was pushed hard by Goerges in the second set yesterday but cruised in the tiebreaker after a number of unforced errors from the German. Goerges missed a simple overhead smash at the net to give Jankovic a 4-0 lead, and then missed a forehand return on match point.
Jankovic struggled with her serve in the first set but saved seven of eight break points, while breaking Goerges twice.
Jankovic has fallen to No. 6 in the rankings and is looking for her first Grand Slam title. She reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon the last three years.
China’s Li Na raced into the second round with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-0 victory over Kazakhstan’s Galina Voskoboeva.
The 19th seed was taken to a tie break in the first set but her opponent, No. 89 in the world, crumbled in the second.
The Chinese No. 2 faces either Bulgaria’s Olga Govortsova or Ukrainian Tatiana Perebiynis in the second round.
Li began her campaign at the All England Club in confident mood, having made the final at Birmingham, the pre-Wimbledon grass court warm-up tournament.
Australia’s Jelena Dokic went out at the first hurdle, 10 years after she stunned the world of tennis by knocking out reigning champion Martina Hingis.
The 26-year-old was beaten 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 by German qualifier Tatjana Malek in one hour, 42 minutes on Court 7.
It was Australian No. 2 Dokic’s first appearance at Wimbledon since losing in the first round in 2004.
In late play on Monday, Novak Djokovic of Serbia pulled out a 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Julien Benneteau of France.
RSS