Sharapova, Venus Williams Advance At Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - World No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova and reigning titlist Venus Williams were a trio of opening-round winners Wednesday at Wimbledon. All three stars advanced in less than an hour on Day 3 of the fortnight. The top-seeded Mauresmo destroyed helpless Croat Ivana Abramovic 6-0, 6-0 in a mere 39 minutes at the All England Club. Abramovic was making her Grand Slam debut. "It`s one of the greatest matches that I`ve played here," Mauresmo said after the rout. The French Mauresmo reached the semifinals here in each of her last three trips and is the reigning Australian Open and WTA Championships titlist. A fourth-seeded Sharapova leveled Israeli Anna Smashnova 6-2, 6-0, while a sixth-seeded Williams piled up 26 winners and waltzed past her fellow American Bethanie Mattek 6-1, 6-0 for her eighth straight victory at the AEC. Both players needed only 51 minutes to move on. Sharapova tallied 27 winners and handed Smashnova her sixth straight first- round setback at the world`s most prestigious tennis tournament. The Russian Sharapova upset Williams` younger sister Serena in the 2004 final here. The five-time Grand Slam champion Venus has won three of the last six Wimbledon crowns, including a victory over her countrywoman Lindsay Davenport in last year`s finale. Williams prevailed in an epic encounter against Davenport and had to save a championship point before securing the hardware. Williams` second-round opponent on Thursday will be her compatriot Lisa Raymond. Ninth-seeded former French Open champion Anastasia Myskina joined the parade into the second round with a 6-0, 6-4 decision over Zimbabwe`s Cara Black. (Copyright 2005 by The Sports Network)