Wimbledon champion Serena Williams swept into the second round of the Olympic tournament with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic on Saturday. Serena was quickly back in the groove on her return to Centre Court, just 21 days after winning her fifth Wimbledon crown and the American fourth seed needed only 61 minutes to crush world number 20 Jankovic. The 30-year-old’s opponent in the last 32 is Urszula Radwanska, who might have a little extra motivation to claim a shock victory as Williams beat the Pole’s sister Agnieszka Radwanska in the Wimbledon final earlier this month.
Clijsters bitten by Games bug: Kim Clijsters admitted she had caught Olympic fever as the four-time Grand Slam champion moved into the women’s singles second round with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Italy’s Roberta Vinci on Saturday. Clijsters was in retirement during the last Olympics in 2008, but the former world number one has finally experienced the Games before quitting for the second and last time after next month’s US Open.
The 29-year-old was thrashed by Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon fourth round earlier this month, but she looked revitalised by the Olympic experience on her return to the All England Club. Clijsters, a three-time US Open winner, brushed aside world number 27 Vinci in just 61 minutes to secure a clash against Australian fifth seed Sam Stosur or Carla Navarro Suarez of Spain.
After finally ending her long wait to taste Olympic life, Clijsters revealed she has already fallen in love with the event. “It’s like a virus, it spreads,” she said. “When you see all the other athletes from your country and the people who follow it, it’s hard not to get into it.” “The Olympic sport in general is so unique, and you can hear that when someone like Roger (Federer) talks about it. “He has won so many Grand Slams but he wants a gold medal in the singles because he hasn’t won that.”
