Serena makes strong start

LONDON (AP):

Back in her comfort zone on Wimbledon's Centre Court, Serena Williams delivered a statement that no one can argue with: When her powerful serve is clicking, she's still the woman to beat at the All England Club.

Putting aside her recent comments that led to a couple of apologies and a brief spat with Maria Sharapova, Williams looked every bit the five-time champion, as she began her Wimbledon title defence with a routine 6-1, 6-3 victory over Mandy Minella of Luxembourg.

"For me, it's the greatest moment for a tennis player, to walk out on Centre Court," Williams said, after her first match at Wimbledon since winning Olympic gold here last year. "That was such a great moment too. So many great memories on this court."

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic also opened his campaign with a straight-sets victory, beating Florian Mayer of Germany 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. Mayer is a two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist - losing to Djokovic at that stage last year - but never looked like causing another major upset a day after Rafael Nadal's stunning first-round exit.

Djokovic took a 3-0 lead in the first set and broke for a 6-5 lead in the second to take firm control. He served out the match to love before saluting the Centre Court crowd with a fist pump.

BIG PLEASURE

"It was a big pleasure again performing here on Centre Court in front of the packed crowd," Djokovic said. "For the first round, it was tricky. ... I think (Mayer's) game is really well suited for grass, so it took a lot of effort."

For Williams, this was a chance to put the focus firmly back on tennis following the recent verbal jousting with Sharapova over their private lives - and comments about a high-profile rape case that she had to apologise for - and the American took full advantage.

As usual on grass, the top-ranked Williams dominated with her hard serve, winning the first set without dropping a single point on her service game. Her main weapon let her down only at the start of the second set, when Minella was able to take a 2-0 lead when Williams double-faulted on break point.

She was one point from going down 3-0, but then won 15 of the next 18 points to take a 4-2 lead and broke again to wrap up the win.

Also yesterday, 42-year-old Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm had an even easier time getting past an opponent, German teenager Carina Witthoeft, less than half her age, 6-0, 6-2 in just 44 minutes.

The only top player with any sort of difficulty advancing was French Open runner-up David Ferrer, who overcame a second-set slump and a scary late fall to beat Martin Alund of Argentina 6-1, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Most other matches yesterday also went according to plan.

Eighth-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro made a winning return to Grand Slam competition, defeating Albert Ramos of Spain 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 after sitting out the French Open because of respiratory problems.

The 16th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany was the highest seeded man to be eliminated. Kohlschreiber wasted a two-set lead against Ivan Dodig of Croatia before retiring in the fifth, saying he was exhausted by a bout of flu.

In the women's draw, last year's runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Yvonne Meusburger of Austria, while sixth-seeded Li Na of China and No. 7 Angelique Kerber of Germany also advanced in straight sets.

Home favorite Laura Robson delivered the biggest upset, beating 10th-seeded Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-4 to become the first British woman to beat a top-10 ranked opponent at Wimbledon in 15 years.

"It was nerve-wracking before I served for it," Robson said. "I just wanted to focus and take it point by point. Any big win gives you a lot of confidence."