Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams suffered her worst All England Club defeat in 15 years on Monday, but top seeds Novak Djokovic, and Maria Sharapova powered into the second round. Williams lost 6-1, 6-3 to 79th-ranked Russian Elena Vesnina in what was the 32-year-old's first opening round loss since her 1997 debut.
But the former world number one - the champion in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008 - believes she can still compete at the top level despite her ranking having slipped to 58 after a six-month absence fighting serious illness. "There's no way I will give up just because I have had a hard time in the first four or five friggin' tournaments back. That's not me," said a fiesty Williams at a post-match news conference.
When asked if she will play at Wimbledon in 2013, she was adamant. Monday's defeat was just her fourth loss at the first round stage of a Grand Slam against 52 wins. Third seed Roger Federer beat Spain's Albert Ramos 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 on Monday to reach the Wimbledon second round, taking just 79 minutes to kick off his bid for a record-equalling seventh title. Top seed Djokovic, opening business on Centre Court, reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over Spanish veteran Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Sharapova, who completed a career Grand Slam with victory at the French Open, was second-up on Centre Court and eased past Australia's Anastasia Rodionova 6-2, 6-3. Sharapova, the 2004 champion, has now beaten Rodionova five times in five meetings without dropping a set.
US Open champion Samantha Stosur and ex-French Open winner Li Na also reached the second round. Stosur, the fifth-seeded Australian, had the honour of being the first woman into the last 64, cruising past Spain's 40th-ranked Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-3. Chinese 11th seed Li Na, the 2011 French Open winner, enjoyed an emphatic 6-3, 6-1 victory over Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan.
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