Saturday, June 28, 2003
The win came after defending men's champion Lleyton Hewitt lost his first match.
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Serena Williams avoided making a new entry in Wimbledon's record book.
That was fine with her.
"I didn't want to make history by having two No. 1 defending champions go out," said Williams, who defeated fellow American Jill Craybas 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday on Centre Court in her opening-round match.
The victory came just 24 hours after defending men's champion Lleyton Hewitt was ousted from the tournament by 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic -- only the second men's champion to lose a first-round match.
"I must say I was a bit nervous today," Williams said. "I don't know why. I don't want to lose in the first round, maybe a little of that was lingering on."
Troubled in France
Three weeks ago, she left the French Open in tears after some fans cheered her missed shots in a semifinal loss to eventual champion Justine Henin-Hardenne.
That ended her 33-match Grand Slam winning streak.
Tuesday's victory at Wimbledon may start another.
Craybas wouldn't bet against it.
"She does so many thing well," Craybas said. "She moves well. She can crack the ball when she wants. She served really well today. She got a lot of easy points on her serve."
Williams was cheered warmly at Wimbledon and, despite the loss in France, may have left Paris having won new friends.
"They (French fans) realized that ... even though I win a lot and do a lot of things -- it's like I'm human. I'm just a young lady trying to make my way in life, and you can't expect everything to be perfect all the time."
Rivals bulking up
Williams is acutely aware that her rivals are bulking up to match her muscular physique. Even Henin-Hardenne's slight figure has more muscle definition and her arms and shoulders are larger.
"Everyone is getting more muscles now," Williams said. "Everybody is looking stronger, acting stronger and playing stronger. I think the whole level of the game has definitely lifted from when I first began."
Williams and Craybas left Centre Court without a curtsy to the Royal Box, a tradition officials suspended beginning this year.
Williams doesn't like it.
"I'm definitely disappointed," she said. "When I was younger I used to always look forward to getting on Centre Court and having an opportunity to curtsy. So I was shocked to see Wimbledon changed their tradition."