Few worries for Venus

Defending champion Venus Williams overcame a shaky start to comfortably beat Virginia Ruano Pascual and secure a place in the third round.

The scoreline of 6-3 6-1 was identical to Williams’ victory over the unseeded Spaniard in the fourth round at Wimbledon in 1998.

Ruano Pascual, who has dropped to 53 in the world rankings since then, put out top seed Martina Hingis at Wimbledon last year and briefly threatened another shock when she broke Williams in the opening game of the match.

But the top seed immediately levelled matters and had break points in the fourth and sixth games before breaking her opponent’s serve to lead 5-3 and serve out for the set.

The 28-year-old Spaniard, making her eighth appearance at the All England Club, had all sorts of difficulties with her serve whereas Williams gradually began to find her power and rhythm.

It was no surprise when Ruano Pascual was broken at the start of the second set and it was the beginning of the end when she failed to win a point on her service game to slip 4-1 behind.

Williams, growing in confidence with every shot, repeated the feat two games later to complete the formalities.

Williams now plays Maureen Drake, of Canada, who beat American Jill Craybas 6-2 6-2.