Williams, Navratilova team up in Tokyo

Serena Williams teamed up with Martina Navratilova in the first round of the Toyota Princess Cup, in Tokyo.

They enjoyed a 6-1 4-6 6-3 first round victory over Conchita Martinez and Nicole Pratt.

"I was having a few withdrawal symptoms from not having Venus here," said Williams.

"But if I've got to be partnered with anyone else there is nobody better than Martina."

The 45-year-old Navratilova said: "I did think about the generation gap. I mean, I used to play with Virginia Wade and Billie Jean King and here I am playing with someone who didn't start playing until 1996."

Williams is scheduled to open her singles campaign on Wednesday after receiving a first round bye.

Defending champion Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia will have to wait until Thursday as organisers deal with a backlog of matches due to rain.