Venus Williams, Rafael Nadal among Wimbledon winners
Venus Williams, Rafael Nadal among Wimbledon winners
Associated Press
WIMBLEDON, England
Back on one of tennis’ top stages, Venus Williams cut a familiar figure Monday at Wimbledon, from her latest original outfit to her trademark booming serves and aggressive groundstrokes.
Williams smacked seven aces at up to 118 mph, totaled 23 winners to only five unforced errors, and overwhelmed 97th-ranked Akgul Amanmuradova 6-3, 6-1 in the first round at the All England Club.
The seven-time major champion recently was off the tour for about five months with a bum hip, including missing the French Open, and this is only her fourth tournament in nearly a year.
“It’s a good place to start. And this is kind of like a home for her. She loves it,” said Williams’ hitting partner, David Witt. “She feels confident out here, and in women’s tennis, ’confident’ goes a long way.”
There sure was nothing shy about a playsuit Williams called “trendy”: white and sleeveless, with a deep “V” neckline, a triangle cut out in the back, a gold belt and gold zipper.
“Jumpers are very ’now,”’ she explained, “as is lace.”
Not as sensational as the corset-like black lace number with skin-toned undergarments that drew so much attention at the 2010 French Open, but Monday’s romper looked something akin to a toga and surely would have won the approval of her Roman goddess namesake.
“She always has something interesting,” said the 6-foot-3 Amanmuradova, a rare opponent taller than the 6-1 Williams. “It’s good to have something different on the tour.”
Williams’ outfit — and, of course, superb play, which betrayed no lingering effects from her injury — generated the most buzz on Day 1 in the 125th edition of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.
Others reaching the second round included 10-time major champion Rafael Nadal, whose parents sat in the Royal Box during his 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory over 90th-ranked Michael Russell; No. 4 Andy Murray, and No. 10 Mardy Fish.
It was Nadal’s first chance to play the tournament’s opening match on Centre Court, an honor given to the defending men’s champion, and something he called a “big emotion.” Bad knees forced Nadal to withdraw in 2009, a year after he won Wimbledon for the first time.
Nadal now faces 69th-ranked Ryan Sweeting, who dropped the first two sets against Pablo Andujar before coming all the way back to win 3-6, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-1.
It’ll be Sweeting’s third match against Nadal this year. Nadal won the others in straight sets, including at the Australian Open.
“They keep putting me up in the top half of the draw. I don’t know what the deal is,” Sweeting said. “What can I say? He’s obviously one of the toughest opponents to play.”