WIMBLEDON // The defending champion Serena Williams won her opening match at Wimbledon to remain unbeaten in first rounds of grand slams. Playing first today on Centre Court, Williams hit 15 aces as she beat 17-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito 6-0, 6-4.
Williams improved to 43-0 in first-round matches at major events. She has won 58 of her past 59 matches against players ranked outside the top 100. Larcher de Brito, ranked 148th, has three wins over top-20 players but was no match for Williams. The three-time champion played 33 minutes before losing a game, and she finished with 47 winners to six for Larcher de Brito. On a warm, sunny afternoon, Williams won all 27 points on her first serve, including an ace with her final shot.
Meanwhile, Svetlana Kuznetsova avoided an upset and advanced with a narrow victory. The 19th-seeded Kuznetsova edged 93rd-ranked Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4. Amanmuradova took the tiebreak with the help of four service winners and an ace. Since the start of the season, Kuznetsova has fallen from third in the rankings to 19th, dropping out of the top 10 for the first time in more than four years. The Russian lost in the fourth round at the Australian Open and in the third round as defending champion at the French Open. * AP
* 1-Serena Williams (UA) beat Michelle Larcher de Brito (Portugal) 6-0, 6-4 * 19-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Akgul Amanmuradova (Uzbekistan) 6-2, 6-7 (5) 6-4 * Anna Chakvetadze (Russia) beat Andrea Petkovic (Germany) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 23-Zheng Jie (China) beat Pauline Parmentier (France) 7-5, 6-4 7-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) beat Melinda Czink (Hungary) 6-3, 6-3 10-Flavia Pennetta (Italy) beat Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) 6-4, 6-0
