Serena Williams set to defend her crown after watching Venus make next round
Williams watched elder sister Venus book her place in the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan yesterday.
The five-time Wimbledon champion is playing only her second tournament since withdrawing from the Australian Open with a hip problem and improved as the match progressed. "I played a few matches in Eastbourne I think helped me to feel pretty comfortable here," she said.
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Hide Ad"All in all I was pretty pleased to play. Coming into any major there's a little bit of tension."
Sixth seed Francesca Schiavone thanked the rain break - the weather ended the first day's play outside Centre Court at 5pm - as she survived a difficult clash with Jelena Dokic, winning 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
"For me it was fantastic because I started the third set and I couldn't understand why she was playing so aggressively and I couldn't move her," Schiavone said. "So at the end I said, 'Something is not working'.
"Of course, when they (closed) the roof, I went back to the locker room and I spoke with (coach Corrado) Barazzutti.
"He said something really important. So I came back and I was playing better."
Last year's Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva survived a first round scare to defeat promising young American Alison Riske 6-0, 3-6, 6-3.