Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova Win Wimbledon Openers

Venus Williams opened the defense of her Wimbledon tennis title by defeating Britain's Naomi Cavaday on Centre Court today at the All England Club in southwest London. Maria Sharapova, the 2004 champion, also won.

Men's No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia became the highest- ranked player to exit so far, losing 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to Germany's Benjamin Becker.

Williams, seeded No. 7, was broken in the first game of the match, but the 27-year-old American recovered to win 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 against an opponent ranked 190 places lower. Russia's Sharapova beat Stephanie Foretz of France 6-1, 6-4.

``All in all, I think she just played well,'' Williams said in a news conference. ``I think it's nice to have a really challenging opponent early on.''

Williams, a four-time champion at the only grass-court Grand Slam, is aiming to become the first player to successfully defend the women's singles title since sister Serena recorded victories against her in the 2002 and 2003 finals.

In other matches today, last year's men's runner-up Rafael Nadal faces Andreas Beck of Germany, and former U.S. Open winner Andy Roddick will play Eduardo Schwank of Argentina. Women's No. 2 seed Jelena Jankovic plays Olga Savchuk.

The top seeds, Roger Federer and Ana Ivanovic, opened with first-round wins yesterday.

Bee Bother

Williams reached 40-0 on her opening service game today against the 19-year-old Cavaday before a bee landed on her ankle as she was ready to serve. The six-time Grand Slam champion shooed it away, then double-faulted and then lost nine of the next 10 points.

``I didn't want it to sting me,'' Williams said. ``I guess the bumblebee got me off to a bad start.''

Williams and Cavaday stayed on serve until Williams broke in the sixth game and had two further break points in the eighth, which Cavaday saved. In the tie-break Cavaday saved the first set point, then sent the second into the net.

After Cavaday took the first game of the second set, Williams won six successive games to secure her spot in the second round. Cavaday, who held two match points against Martina Hingis at this stage last year, has yet to advance beyond the opening round.

``I was matching her well shot for shot, it's a shame she pipped me in the first set,'' Cavaday told reporters.

On Court 1, Sharapova dominated from the start in the opening set against Foretz, who suffered a first-round Grand Slam exit for a 19th time in 27 appearances.

Sharapova Victory

Sharapova, winner of the Australian Open in January, converted both her break points -- in games 2 and 6 -- to take the set in 27 minutes.

The 21-year-old, seeded No. 3, started the second set with a break and had another in the seventh game, then was broken back as she served for the match. Sharapova hadn't faced a break point until then.

Sharapova, ranked No. 1 following the retirement of Justine Henin on May 19 until Ivanovic took over after claiming the French Open, completed her win two games later.

Other women's seeds to advance were Flavia Pennetta, Sybille Bammer, Caroline Wozniacki and Sania Mirza. Unseeded Michaella Krajicek, a quarterfinalist last year and the younger sister of 1996 men's champion Richard Krajicek, lost 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6) to Marina Erakovic.

Davydenko Defeat

Davydenko's struggles at Wimbledon continued as he suffered a fifth first-round exit in seven visits. He reached the round of 16 in 2007, but has won only one other match at the venue. The 27-year-old has made at least the quarterfinals in the other three majors.

Becker, also 27, hadn't won a first-round Grand Slam match in his past six attempts.

Men's No. 24 seed Jarkko Nieminen of Finland advanced after America's Wayne Odesnik quit with a leg injury, while French seeds Richard Gasquet and Paul-Henri Mathieu, No. 8 and No. 14 respectively, also reached the second round. Sebastien Grosjean, a two-time semifinalist, was another French winner.

source-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=as16Sf0P16Gs