Venus seeking more great memories

Venus Williams is relishing the chance to begin the defence of her Wimbledon title as she prepares to face British wild card Naomi Cavaday on Centre Court today.

The American seventh seed starts an unbackable favourite against Cavaday but insists she will prepare as professionally as ever for the test posed by her 197th-ranked opponent.

Williams said: “I don’t know a ton about her but I’m sure that she’s playing good tennis. I try to prepare the best I can for each and every player.

“It’s always extremely exciting coming back as defending champion. It’s nice to have the memories from last year all flowing into this year.

“Of course it’s nice coming to a tournament where you have a really good record because obviously that gives good confidence. Mostly I think just think about what it’s going to take.”

Second seed Jelena Jankovic was prepared to face Olga Savchuk of the Ukraine, while former champion and third seed Maria Sharapova was set to begin her campaign against Stephanie Foretz.

Williams was hoping to follow the example set by her sister Serena, who served up a powerful performance to overcome Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi 7-5 6-3 yesterday.

Williams will next face Urszula Radwanska, 17-year-old sister of 14th seed Agnieszka, in the second round after the young Pole beat Klara Zakopalova.

New world number one and top seed Ana Ivanovic breezed through to the second round with a 6-1 6-2 Centre Court rout of Paraguay’s Rossana De Los Rios.

The 20-year-old French Open champion barely had to break sweat to swat aside the challenge of her opponent and admitted she is relishing her new lofty status.

Ivanovic said: “I think I played quite well today considering it’s my first match on grass. It was great to be back on grass. It (the expectation) is very challenging for me. It’s something new and exciting.

“Coming in as the top seed means lots of people expect you to win. Becoming number one takes more pressure.

“But I see it as a positive thing. If you put yourself in a position to do something memorable then you feel pressure.”

Fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova narrowly survived becoming the biggest women’s casualty on the opening day as she battled back from a set and a break down to beat Mathilde Johansson of France 6-7 7-5 6-3.

Twelfth seed Patty Schnyder headed the list of big-name departures on the opening day, along with Maria Kirilenko, Virginie Razzano and Dominika Cibulkova. Alize Cornet fell to 16-year-old Russian qualifier Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Former champion Amelie Mauresmo, who has slipped to 33 in the world rankings and is seeded 29th, beat American Ashley Harkleroad 6-4 6-3, while last year’s beaten finalist Marion Bartoli overcame Sabine Lisicki 6-2 6-4.