Sharapova, Venus advance at Big W

The 2004 champion Sharapova, clad in a white tuxedo-type shirt and white shorts, cruised past France's Stephanie Foretz 6-1, 6-4 on Court 1 at the All England Club. This marked the tall Russian's first grass-court match of the year.

The three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova, who captured the Australian Open back in January by beating current No. 1 Ana Ivanovic in the final, will face Russian Alla Kudryavtseva in the round of 64 here.

Meanwhile, a seventh-seeded Williams was tested in the first set by Britain's Naomi Cavaday before cruising in the second for a 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory on the famed Centre Court.

The 19-year-old Cavaday surprised Williams by breaking the big American in the opening game of the match, and the British youngster pushed Williams to 4-4 in the first-set tiebreak before the six-time Grand Slam champ finally prevailed for a one-set lead.

In the second set, it was all Williams, who ultimately sealed the deal with a forehand winner to improve her career record at Wimbledon to 52-7. The American moved on in 1 hour, 18 minutes with the help of six aces and four service breaks. Cavaday managed just the one break en route to defeat.

The former top-ranked Williams beat France's Marion Bartoli in last year's finale here, giving her a fourth Wimbledon title in eight years. Her other Wimbledon championships came in 2000, 2001 and 2005 and she was the runner-up to her younger sister Serena in 2002 and 2003.

Up next for Venus will be another Brit, Anne Keothavong.

In other action involving seeds, No. 22 Italian Flavia Pennetta handled Ukrainian Julia Vakulenko 6-3, 6-4; No. 26 Austrian Sybille Bammer was trailing Sofia Arvidsson 4-6, 4-1 when the Swede retired; No. 31 Dane Caroline Wozniacki bested Czech Eva Hrdinova 6-2, 7-5; and No. 32 Indian Sania Mirza held off Colombian Catalina Castano 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-4.