Venus Williams made a late decision to play at Wimbledon after injury and arrived late on to court on Monday but made up for lost time as she began her bid to win the title for a sixth time with a straightforward 6-3, 6-1 victory over Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan.
The five-times champion, seeded No23 in only her second tournament back after more than four months out with hip and stomach problems, was too good for the world No97 Amanmuradova and will now play the 40-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan.
Whether it was gamesmanship, trouble getting through the crowds or simple tardiness, Williams was 10 minutes late getting on to court, keeping Amanmuradova waiting in her chair, playing with her racket and generally getting cold.
When she did arrive Williams looked a little like she had come from a toga party and cut off her dress to make it more suitable for tennis. A "playsuit" is reportedly the best way to describe what she was wearing but she probably could have worn a trouser suit and still taken care of Amanmuradova, who had lost all three of her previous matches at Wimbledon.
The Uzbek was out for a month this season with a right elbow injury and she lacked the power to hurt Williams, who looked a little sharper than she had last week in Eastbourne, where she lost in the quarter-finals.
A poorly struck drop shot which bounced before the net handed Williams the early break in the fourth game and from then on, there was never any doubt about the outcome of the match.
As the set wore on, the Williams serve began to crank up to its normal level and she held the advantage to take it 6-3 before another break in the third game of the second put her in total command.
Two more breaks, in the fifth and seventh games, sealed victory and Williams will now play the oldest player in the draw, Date-Krumm, who was the day's first winner with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Britain's Katie O'Brien.
Last year's Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva survived a first-round scare to defeat the promising young American Alison Riske 6-0, 3-6, 6-3.
The No2 seed is one of the players expected to mount a serious title challenge after her run to the final 12 months ago, where she lost to Serena Williams, but she will have to raise her game from this performance.
There looked little danger when Zvonareva, who also reached the final at the US Open in a stellar 2010, wrapped up the first set to love after only 25 minutes. The Russian's placement and consistency were simply too much for Riske.
But the 20-year-old dug in to hold serve for the first time at the start of the second set, and from there the momentum of the match changed. Riske's serve was proving a useful weapon but it was her willingness to move forward and attack the net that gave her the upper hand.
Suddenly it was Zvonareva who was making the mistakes off the ground and after breaking in the sixth game, Riske had little trouble polishing off the set.
The American was promptly broken at the start of the decider but she responded impressively to level at 2-2. Riske then had a chance for a second consecutive break but she could not take it, and that would prove to be her last opportunity.
Zvonareva piled on the pressure in the eighth game to gain the crucial break before confidently serving out the victory to set up a second-round meeting with a fellow Russian, Elena Vesnina.
The five-times champion, seeded No23 in only her second tournament back after more than four months out with hip and stomach problems, was too good for the world No97 Amanmuradova and will now play the 40-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan.
Whether it was gamesmanship, trouble getting through the crowds or simple tardiness, Williams was 10 minutes late getting on to court, keeping Amanmuradova waiting in her chair, playing with her racket and generally getting cold.
When she did arrive Williams looked a little like she had come from a toga party and cut off her dress to make it more suitable for tennis. A "playsuit" is reportedly the best way to describe what she was wearing but she probably could have worn a trouser suit and still taken care of Amanmuradova, who had lost all three of her previous matches at Wimbledon.
The Uzbek was out for a month this season with a right elbow injury and she lacked the power to hurt Williams, who looked a little sharper than she had last week in Eastbourne, where she lost in the quarter-finals.
A poorly struck drop shot which bounced before the net handed Williams the early break in the fourth game and from then on, there was never any doubt about the outcome of the match.
As the set wore on, the Williams serve began to crank up to its normal level and she held the advantage to take it 6-3 before another break in the third game of the second put her in total command.
Two more breaks, in the fifth and seventh games, sealed victory and Williams will now play the oldest player in the draw, Date-Krumm, who was the day's first winner with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Britain's Katie O'Brien.
The No2 seed is one of the players expected to mount a serious title challenge after her run to the final 12 months ago, where she lost to Serena Williams, but she will have to raise her game from this performance.
There looked little danger when Zvonareva, who also reached the final at the US Open in a stellar 2010, wrapped up the first set to love after only 25 minutes. The Russian's placement and consistency were simply too much for Riske.
But the 20-year-old dug in to hold serve for the first time at the start of the second set, and from there the momentum of the match changed. Riske's serve was proving a useful weapon but it was her willingness to move forward and attack the net that gave her the upper hand.
Suddenly it was Zvonareva who was making the mistakes off the ground and after breaking in the sixth game, Riske had little trouble polishing off the set.
The American was promptly broken at the start of the decider but she responded impressively to level at 2-2. Riske then had a chance for a second consecutive break but she could not take it, and that would prove to be her last opportunity.
Zvonareva piled on the pressure in the eighth game to gain the crucial break before confidently serving out the victory to set up a second-round meeting with a fellow Russian, Elena Vesnina.
