Mon Jun 23 10:52:26 2008

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Ivanovic, Serena reach second round at Wimbledon

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Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - World No. 1 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and two-time Wimbledon titlist Serena Williams of the United States were first-round winners Monday at Wimbledon.

The top-seeded Ivanovic steamrolled Paraguay's Rossana De Los Rios 6-1, 6-2 on Centre Court at the All England Club.

The 20-year-old Ivanovic, who has won her last eight Grand Slam matches and appeared in three of the last five Grand Slam finals, will face France's Nathalie Dechy in the second round.

The sixth-seeded Williams opened her ninth stay here with a 7-5, 6-3 decision against Estonian Kaia Kanepi on a sunny Day 1. Williams fired seven aces, held her serve throughout, and tallied two breaks en route to the second round.

The former top-ranked Williams, a quarterfinal loser here at the hands of recently-retired Belgian star Justine Henin last year, captured Wimbledon back-to-back in 2002 and 2003 and was the 2004 runner-up to Russian Maria Sharapova.

Serena's older sister Venus, a four-time Wimbledon champion, is the reigning titlist here, having beaten France's Marion Bartoli in last year's finale.