SWilliams wins opening Wimbledon match

Serena Williams began the defense of her Wimbledon title with a comfortable first-round win, relying on an overpowering serve to beat 17-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito 6-0, 6-4.

Williams won all 27 points on her first serve and hit 15 aces, the last on her final shot. As the crowd applauded her victory, Williams curtsied, mindful Queen Elizabeth II is expected to visit Wimbledon for the first time since 1977 on Thursday.

Williams plays her second-round match that day and has said she hopes to meet the Queen.

Not that she needed additional motivation to advance. Williams is 43-0 in first-round matches at major events and has won 58 of her past 59 matches against players ranked outside the top 100.

Larcher de Brito, ranked 148^th, has three wins over top-20 players but was overwhelmed at the start against Williams. The three-time champion played 33 minutes before losing a game, and she finished with 47 winners to six for Larcher de Brito.

On a warm, sunny afternoon, Williams played first on Centre Court and swept the first eight games.

Larcher de Brito then began to play better, and grunts that accompanied her shots grew louder. Last year, French Open opponent Aravane Rezai complained that Larcher de Brito’s shrieks were too loud, and the noise drew considerable attention from the British media at Wimbledon.

Williams grunted, too. There were some vigorous rallies down the stretch, with both players scrambling along the baseline, but Williams’ serve allowed her to keep a cushion. Serving for the match at 5-4, she hit a service winner and three aces to close out the victory.

Williams has reached double figures in aces eight times this year, most on the women’s tour.

Elsewhere in first-round play, 19^th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia advanced by edging 93^rd-ranked Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4.