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Wednesday June 24, 2009

Champion Venus and Roddick ease into second round

VENUS Williams performed her duties as champion with the minimum of fuss to stride into the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele.

The American, described by nine times former champion Martina Navratilova as having “the wingspan of a 747“, used her long limbs to great effect to easily fly past Wimbledon debutant Voegele.

Takeoff: France’s Jeremy Chardy serving to Andy Roddick of the US during their first round match yesterday. Roddick won 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3. — AFP

“It’s the best place to be when you are a pro tennis player and I savour every blade of it,” said Williams, who is chasing a sixth title at Wimbledon. “I’ve had that crown for several years and I want to make it mine again.”

Dinara Safina’s chances of living up to her world number one billing did not look too promising as she struggled past Spain’s Lourdes Dominguez Lino 7-5, 6-3.

Sixth seed Jelena Jankovic also struggled as she clawed her way back from 5-2 down in the second set to beat Germany’s Julia Goerges 6-4, 7-6. While the bubbly Serbian skipped back into the locker room, her namesake Jelena Dokic buried her head in a towel after her return to Wimbledon ended in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 defeat by Tatjana Malek of Germany.

Almost four weeks after Dokic left court in floods of tears, when her Roland Garros challenge ended with a back injury, she suffered another blow at the grasscourt major.

A dizzy spell brought on by what she thought might be a virus, ruined her day and she had to have her blood pressure taken on court.

“I wasn’t feeling great at the beginning of the second. And that’s where things just started going downhill,” said Dokic. “I was aching a little bit and I was dizzy,” she added.

Another sentimental favourite, Kimiko Date Krumm, making her return to Wimbledon after a 13-year absence, also wilted under the heat in her opening match.

The 38-year-old Japanese made her professional debut in 1989 before her opponent yesterday, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, was even born.

Despite being old enough to be Wozniacki’s mother, Date Krumm gave the 18-year-old ninth seed the run around in the opening set before fading away to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 defeat.

Fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro, boosted to the top of the draw following world number one and champion Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal, made a mockery of his supposed lack of grasscourt expertise by easing past Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.

Next up for the Argentine will be 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt, a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 winner over American Robby Ginepri.

Sixth seed Andy Roddick showed few ill-effects from the ankle sprain he suffered 10 days ago at Queen’s Club and blasted 21 aces en route to downing Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3.

Asked if he felt like he was under the radar this year with all the hype surrounding a potential Murray-Roger Federer final, he fired back: “At this point in my career, I really don’t care who’s saying what, about who, and when, and where, and how.” — Reuters

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