Venus dresses for success in Paris victory

VENUS WILLIAMS reached the third round of the French Open for the ninth successive year yesterday, but found herself answering more questions about her outfit than her performance.

The world number two’s serve, which had malfunctioned badly in her opening match, clicked into gear as she brushed aside Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2 6-4 on Philippe Chatrier Court.

Having had major problems holding serve against Patty Schnyder, Williams was not broken once yesterday, setting up a clash with 26th seed Dominika Cibulkova. Williams wore the same self-designed black lace number she had unveiled against Schnyder, a see-through skirted bodice that would have left little to the imagination if not for a skin-coloured undergarment.