Wimbledon News Daily Bulletin

Maria Sharapova opened her Wimbledon campaign with a 6-1 6-0 victory over Anastasia Pivovarova in an all-Russian match on Court 2.

Sharapova needed just 54 minutes to demolish the 17-year-old from Moscow, who was playing her first career main draw match on grass, out of contention.

The 16th seed hit one ace and 14 winners and Pivovarova, making her third appearance at a grand slam, had no answer to her first serve throughout a one-sided contest.

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Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, faces Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania in the second round.

Olivier Rochus enjoyed making Wimbledon history even though he was on the wrong end of a late-night clash with Novak Djokovic.

The Belgian, who was the shortest player in the men's singles at 5ft 6in, walked tall for five sets against the third seed before finally losing at 10.58pm on Monday night – the latest finish in the tournament's history.

Defeat was a blow, but the match was an experience Rochus was grateful to have had a part in, and he offered a resounding vote of confidence for the roof which allowed play to continue long after night fell.

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"It was wonderful," he said. "With the roof closed and all the crowd, it was the best atmosphere I ever played in," Rochus said.

"It will be a great memory, even though I lost. It was a great match. I gave my best, and I was really close to beating a great player. It's a match I will never forget."

Sam Stosur became the second top-six seed to exit at the first round of the Wimbledon women's singles tournament after losing in straight sets to Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi.

Stosur followed fellow French Open finalist Francesca Schiavone in making an early departure from SW19 after a 6-4 6-4 loss.

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The 26-year-old Australian, the sixth seed, had been tipped as a potential winner after beating Justine Henin and Serena Williams at Roland Garros but she struggled on grass against world No 80 Kanepi.

Serena Williams opened her Wimbledon defence with a 6-0 6-4 victory over Portuguese teenager Michelle Larcher De Brito.

The world No 1 and top seed needed just 63 minutes to dispatch De Brito, 17, and set up a second-round meeting with Anna Chakvetadze.

Williams was grateful for the workout against an opponent whose battling display in the second set won the admiration of fans.

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"I served well but I could have came to the net more often," said the 28-year-old.

"She's a good player. I played her before and that was good because I knew what to expect. It was good for me because most people that do play nowadays hit really hard. It was good to get someone that hit really hard early on."