Age and wisdom enable Williams to be dangerous

Williams, who turned 31 on Friday, hardly broke sweat as she swept aside Akgul Amanmuradova 6-3 6-1 in their first-round showdown on Court Two.

The five-time Wimbledon champion is playing only her second tournament since withdrawing from the Australian Open with a hip injury and improved as the match against her Uzbek opponent progressed.

She believes years of competition have left her perfectly equipped for this stage of her career.

“I’m smarter than I was five years ago,” said the 23rd seed. “The beauty of being able to have a long career is being able to use the experience that you learn on the court.

“More and more players are starting to realise that it’s an advantage to be able to play longer, because then you understand the game.”

Second seed Vera Zvonareva also made it through, but last year’s runner-up was given a stern examination by US youngster Alison Riske before triumphing 6-0 3-6 6-3.

The Russian, beaten by Serena Williams 12 months ago and expected to be a major contender again, raced through the opening set in 25 minutes but Riske made life far more difficult in the two following sets.

“I’m really happy I was able to pull it off in the end,” said Zvonareva.”

Former French and US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova fought back from a set down to defeat Zhang Shuai 3-6 6-3 6-4, while 19th seed Yanina Wickmayer beat Varvara Lepchenko 7-5 6-3.

Seeds Kaia Kanepi and Shahar Peer were early casualties and American teenager Christina McHale buried the memory of her collapse from 5-0 up in the decider against Sara Errani at the French Open by knocking out 28th seed Ekaterina Makarova 2-6 6-1 8-6.

Sixth seed Francesca Schiavone was grateful for a rain break as she survived her clash with Jelena Dokic.

With the deciding set tied at 1-1 and deuce on her own serve, Schiavone welcomed the hold-up. She had dropped the second set and was in obvious trouble at the start of the third, but when showers forced the players to hurry off Centre Court she was able to regain her composure.

The 30-year-old Italian returned to tie up a 6-4 1-6 6-3 victory, quashing the prospect of losing her Wimbledon opener for the second year in a row.

Dokic made her name with a famous opening-round victory over Martina Hingis at the All England Club 12 years ago, when she was just 16.