Venus Williams survives early scare at Wimbledon
WIMBLEDON, England — As a three-time Wimbledon champion, Venus Williams knows that getting through the early matches can sometimes be the tricky part.
Just making it past the first round this time almost proved too much.
Williams was down a set and a break, then down 3-1 in the final set, before pulling out a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 win Tuesday over Alla Kudryavtseva, a 19-year-old Russian playing her first Wimbledon match.
"I think I've made my mistakes in the first round, and I think that it helps definitely to work out some of those cobwebs," Williams said. "I think being able to hit a lot of balls in some pressure situations will definitely help me in the coming rounds."
Williams, who has slipped to No. 31 in the rankings due to inactivity, injuries and a drop in form, came to Wimbledon without any grass-court match preparation. It showed in the first set as she struggled to keep the ball in the court.
"The first set went so fast and my balls were just flying out and I didn't have any answers," she said. "That really bothered me because when things are going wrong, I can figure it out."
Down 2-0 and 0-30 on her serve in the second set, Williams looked in danger of going out in the opening round for the first time since her Wimbledon debut in 1997. But she righted herself to win six of seven games for the set.
Williams then had to fight back again from a break down in the third. And when she served at 5-4 down, 30-30, she was two points from defeat. The Russian missed a backhand, and Williams smacked a 119 mph service winner to hold. Williams then broke in the next game and served out the match at love.
"I enjoy the battle," she said. "I enjoy winning matches like this. This is what I do."
In men's play, four-time defending champion Roger Federer was to play 18-year-old Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina as he seeks his 50th straight win on grass. No. 3 Andy Roddick was due on Centre Court against Danai Udomchoke of Thailand.
Among the big name winners Tuesday were defending women's champion Amelie Mauresmo, 2004 winner Maria Sharapova, second-seeded Rafael Nadal and former champion Lleyton Hewitt.
The biggest cheers on Centre Court and across the grounds were for Britain's Tim Henman, who reached the second round by outlasting Carlos Moya 13-11 in the fifth set.
