Wimbledon got off to a surprising start with the loss by Rafael Nadal in the first round, but there were no such surprises on Tuesday for the women, as Serena Williams and Li Na made their way through to the second round with victories in their opening matches.
Williams put behind any controversy with Maria Sharapova and other comments she made to continue her strong play this year and she won in straight sets for a 6-1 6-3 victory after the shock of Nadal's defeat. Novak Djokovic played after her and Williams made quick work of the match, as she won the first set in 19 minutes before taking control in the second as well.
Li Na is seeded sixth and she is looking to add another major after winning the French Open two years ago and she eased her way into the second round with a 6-1 6-1 win. Nadal's loss shocked the tournament and that's what Wimbledon gets after seeding him fifth despite just winning the French Open, as he is a star that needs to adjust to grass and his match was slightly more difficult than he is used to at the start of the major.
Moving smoothly on the grass and firing some heavy artillery Minella's way, the French Open champion clocked up her 32nd consecutive victory and looked every bit the overwhelming favorite to claim a 17th grand slam title. No current athlete in the world of sport can match the 31-year-old for reliability at present and the American, despite a brief blip, eased past Luxembourg's Mandy Minella 6-1 6-3.
Rafa Nadal's defeat by little-known Steve Darcis ranked as one of Wimbledon's greatest shocks, but there was never any question of American Williams suffering a similar fate as she limbered up in the Center Court sunshine. After the shockwaves that rumbled around Wimbledon on opening night Serena Williams restored a sense of order with a routine win to begin her campaign for a sixth title on Tuesday.
Li's progress was so straightforward that she began to lose concentration after going 5-0 up in the second set, allowing Krajicek to hold and then save two matchpoints in a long seventh game on a sunny Court 12.
The sixth-seeded Li, China's first grand-slam champion when she won the 2011 French Open, recovered and hit a winning serve on the third matchpoint to progress to a meeting with either Simona Halep of Romania or Olga Govortsova of Belarus.
Krajicek, 24, had not played at Wimbledon since 2008, although the family name is still on the honors board after brother Richard won the men's singles title in 1996. Former French Open champion Li Na had a short and sweet ride into the second round of Wimbledon on Tuesday, spoiling Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek's comeback to the tournament with a 6-1 6-1 victory.
Men's top seed Novak Djokovic, aiming for a second Wimbledon crown, followed Williams on to Center Court for his first match since his semi-final defeat by Nadal at Roland Garros.
On paper the Serb's first round clash against Germany's Florian Mayer, number 34 in the world, looked a tougher proposition than Nadal faced against the 135th-ranked Darcis, although two seismic shocks in consecutive days would be stretching the bounds of credibility.
Williams and title rival Maria Sharapova had become embroiled in an unsavory verbal spat in the week leading up to the grasscourt slam and the American seemed glad to let her racket do the talking against world No.92 Minella.
She required only 19 minutes to claim the first set and although Williams dropped serve with a double-fault to trail briefly in the second she quickly snuffed out her opponent. Elsewhere, while 18-year-old American Madison Keys was inflicting further damage on British hopes by removing Heather Watson from the women's singles draw in straight sets, Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm was flying the flag for the golden oldies.
The 42-year-old, who played her first Wimbledon in 1989, crushed 18-year-old German qualifier Carina Witthoeft 6-0 6-2.
"Tennis is not only power, not only speed, not only for young players," said Date-Krumm, who pulled out a teapot to explain her love of the beverage during her news conference.
"It doesn't go on court though. It's too hot!"
There was more Japanese success as Kei Nishikori beat Australia's Matthew Ebden 6-2 6-4 6-3.
(Reuters Quotes)
