Williams looks ominous as play resumes

Reigning champion Venus Williams looked in ominous form in today’s opening quarter-final of the women’s singles, which began after rain had delayed play.

Williams overcame stiff early resistance from world number 48 Elena Likhovtseva, the only unseeded player in the last eight, before taking the first set 6-2 in 27 minutes.

The 26-year-old Russian had failed to take a set off Williams in any of their seven previous meetings going back five years but she briefly threatened to end her dismal run, particularly when she managed to draw the top seed into the net.

Likhovtseva began well enough, restricting the world number one to a solitary point in her first two service games, but her first serve let her down badly and she was broken in the sixth game.

The Russian missed a chance to break her opponent in the next game and then dropped her serve for a second time to lose the set.