Venus Williams Wins First Round in an Hour at Wimbledon

In a battle of the giants, Venus Williams—who stands 6'1"—took to the court Monday as though she hadn't been gone for several months and won her first match at Wimbledon 6-3, 6-1 against the 6'3" Akgul Amanmuradova in exactly one hour.

On Sunday, sister Serena Williams said that the two are coming into the major fairly unpracticed.

She told the media, “We spent a lot more time together because we both were off. We both haven't played pretty much at all. And, uhm, yeah, it's been good because, you know, sometimes I hate to say it, but when you're down, it's always good to see someone down with you. And she was down with me. I was like, 'Ha-ha. Maybe we'll come back together.'”

Venus Williams, the 23rd seed, was on top of game, shooting seven aces and 23 winners with only one double fault and five unforced errors. She gave no break opportunities to the Uzbekistani but was able to convert four of five break points herself. 

Williams dressed in another interesting ensemble—an all white romper with big gold jewelery.

The All England Club veteran and five-time champion celebrated her 31st birthday this past Friday, June 17. She will face another veteran in the second round against 41-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm, who defeated Katie O'Brien 6-0, 7-5.

Another American shined today as 19-year-old Christina McHale upset Ekaterina Makarova in a two-hour, 10-minute match 2-6, 6-1, 8-6.

McHale came on the radar with a surprising second-round run at the 2010 US Open. This is her first entry into the grass court major, and she will move on to the second round after playing her best match yet.

Makarova was not the only seed to fall after 17th seed Kaia Kanepi was upset by Italian Sara Errani 6-1, 6-4, and Shahar Peer, the 22nd seed, was taken out by world No. 89 Ksenia Pervak 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.


Keep checking Tennis Now for breaking news, match results and analysis as play continues at Wimbledon.