Wimbledon: Venus looks to eclipse Serena

Venus Williams aims to follow her younger sister into the third round of Wimbledon today.

The defending ladies champion faces Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova on Court Two.

Serena booked her place in the third round with a comfortable 6-4 6-0 victory over Barbara Rittner.

Following her 55-minute win, Serena explained how big sister Venus had inspired her to believe she could follow in her footsteps and get her hands on the coveted Challenge Trophy.

"She served as great inspiration because we both grew up together practising on the same courts," said Serena.

"When she was doing really well, I wanted to be there. I saw everything she was getting and I wanted it also. I wanted to be a player, I wanted to be a Grand Slam champion, I wanted to be the best. That's what I'm still trying to work for."

The younger Williams insisted she was experimenting in the first set in which she appeared sluggish and was actually broken in the very first game of the match.

"In the first set I was just wanting to come to the net a bit more and try a different game I've been practising.

"Plus my serve is really looking a lot better now," said Williams, who goes on to play Italian Emmanuelle Gagliardi in the next round.

There she will be joined by Jennifer Capriati, who beat Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-1 to keep her Grand Slam dream on track.

Lindsay Davenport, the number three seed who lost to Venus in last year's final, meets Alicia Molik of Australia on Centre Court ,while Amelie Mauresmo and Jelena Dokic are also in action on Courts One and Two respectively.