Venus eases into second round

Defending champion Venus Williams moved into the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday but time caught up with fellow All England Club veterans Kimiko Date Krumm and Jelena Dokic.

Williams, the five-time, 29-year-old champion, beat Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-2 in a sun-kissed Centre Court workout. "It is the best place to be when you are a pro tennis player and I savour every blade of it," said Williams. "I've had that crown for several years and I want to make it mine again."

While Williams was pondering facing Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko for a place in the last 32, Date Krumm and Dokic's hopes of a fairytale campaign melted in the Wimbledon heat.

Date Krumm, the 38-year-old Japanese who last played here in 1996, took the first set off Danish ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki but slipped to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 defeat.

The Japanese player, making a comeback this year, reached the semi-finals in 1996 and when she made her debut in 1989, Wozniacki was still a year away from being born.

Date Krumm, 20 years older than the blonde Dane, needed extensive medical treatment on her injured thigh as the marathon first round tie took its toll.

LONDON, AFP