Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams cruised into the
Wimbledon second round on Tuesday as the All England Club recovered
from the shockwaves of Rafael Nadal's exit 24 hours earlier.
World number one Djokovic, the 2011 champion, beat Germany's Florian
Mayer 6-3,7-5, 6-4, in the Serb's first grass-court outing of the
season and his first match since his shattering five-set semi-final
loss toNadal at the French Open.
"It was a big pleasure to play in front of a packed Centre Court
against a tricky rival likeMayer. He's got a great variety of shots
and his game is well-suited to grass," said Djokovic, who next faces
either Bobby Reynolds or Steve Johnson.
Defending champion Williams, chasing a sixth Wimbledon title and 17th
major, racked-up her 32nd successive win, cruisingto a 6-1, 6-3 win
over Luxembourg's Mandy Minella.
Her 57-minute romp on Centre Court briefly deflected attention away
from the storm surrounding her controversial comments ona US high
school rape case and the fall-out from her criticism of Maria
Sharapova's love life.
The 31-year-old took out her frustrations onthe hapless Minella, the
world number 92 who has never defeated a top-30 player let alone one
of Williams's calibre whose French Open title three weeks ago took her
majors haul to 16.
Victory was also her 75th in her last 78 matches, a run that stretches
back to her shock first round departure at Roland Garros in 2012, the
worst Grand Slam exit ofher career.
Tuesday's 32nd successive win took her to within just three of the
record set by older sister Venus in 2000.
"I never think about the run, I just treat every match like a new
one," said Williams.
"It was special coming out as defending champion. I played great and I
have some great memories."
Williams did not concede a single point on her serve in the first set
and finished the match with 25 winners to Minella's five.
She goes on to face French qualifier CarolineGarcia, who she beat in
the second round inParis, for a place in the last 32.
Russia's Maria Kirilenko, who made the quarterfinals last year,
slumped to a first round exit at the hands of Britain's world number
38, Laura Robson, who claimed a 6-3, 6-4 win.
"That was a big one for me just because of all the nerves and playing
in front of your home crowd at Wimbledon," said Robson, a former
junior champion.
Kimiko Date-Krumm, just three months shy of her 43rd birthday and the
oldest woman in the main draw, made the second round with a 6-0, 6-2
win over Carina Witthoeft, an18-year-old German qualifier, who was
just four when the Japanese star made her Wimbledon debut in 1989.
Date-Krumm, who next faces Romania's Alexandra Cadantu, said she
carefully manages her training schedule to avoid burn-out and drinks a
lot of Chinese tea.
"I'm taking care of my body, because of course the most difficult
thing is recovery. I need more training. But if I do too much I feel
tired," said Date-Krumm, a semi-finalist in 1996.
"I like Chinese tea. Sometimes Japanese tea. Idrink a lot. I have a
tea pot I always I carry. It's here with me now."
Li Na, the Chinese sixth seed, enjoyed a comprehensive 6-1, 6-1 defeat
of Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek.
The 31-year-old former French Open champion next faces Romania's Simona Halep.
"It was a pretty good start to Wimbledon. Because the last two years I
didn't do well on the grass court," said Li, twice a quarterfinalist.
"I have to get used to playing on the grass. I was feeling pretty happy."
Argentinian eighth seed Juan Martin del Potro, who missed the French
Open throughillness, saw off Spain's Albert Ramos 6-2, 7-5, 6-1.
Australia's Bernard Tomic put out American 21st seed Sam Querrey, 7-6
(8/6), 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 2-6, 6-3 despite complaining of dizziness
midway through the match and being forced to call for a doctor.
Tomic, a quarterfinalist in 2011, was playingwithout his controversial
father in the crowd.
John Tomic, who is facing a criminal charge in Spain for assaulting
his son's hitting partner, has been banned from the club by Wimbledon
authorities.
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