Top Seeds Roll To Open Wimbledon

Serena Williams, a five-time champion who is the top women’s seed, breezed through her opening match at Wimbledon, where defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic was also a winner on Monday.

Williams improved to 65-1 in the first round of Grand Slam events with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan. Williams won her 20th grand slam title at the French Open but has a pair of third-round losses in her past two visits to the All England Club.

Williams was rattled early, but the world’s No. 1 player for the past 247 weeks overcame jitters and a warning in the sixth game for an audible obscenity to easily advance.

“She came out so fast,” Williams said. “I can’t say I thought she’d be that good, to be honest.”

Williams is seeking to become the first player since 1988 (Steffi Graf) to win all four Grand Slam titles in the same season.

Maria Sharapova (6-2, 6-2 over Johanna Konta) and Djokovic also won Monday. Djokovic beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

“It doesn’t get any better than Wimbledon,” Djokovic said.

Australian men’s great Lleyton Hewitt played his final match at his favorite tennis venue and made it a memorable one, losing a four-hour marathon in five sets to Jarkko Nieminen.

“For me, it’s the home of tennis,” said the 33-year-old, who announced this would be his last turn at Wimbledon. “I don’t get the same feeling walking into any other grounds in the world. … I do get goosebumps walking into this place.”

Hewitt said he leaves feeling fortunate that, as a former champion, he can always come back and enjoy chats in the locker room four weeks before Wimbledon.

Venus Williams, a five-time Wimbledon champion, won 6-0, 6-0 in a 40-minute match against Madison Brengle. The Williams sisters are two wins apiece from a fourth-round meeting.