Brits struggle at Wimbledon - but Venus cruises through (From The Northern Echo)

Brits struggle at Wimbledon - but Venus cruises through

3:48pm Tuesday 23rd June 2009 in

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BRITISH players continue to struggle on the second day of the Wimbledon Championships, with four more crashing out at the first-round stage this afternoon.

British women's number one Anne Keothavong was the highest-profile casualty, losing 7-5, 6-2 to Austria's Patricia Mayr despite starting the match above her opponent in the world rankings.

Katie O'Brien and Georgie Stoop also exited the women's draw, leaving Britain without a single second-round qualifier at this stage.

O'Brien fought valiantly against Czech Iveta Benesova before eventually going down in three sets, while Stoop lost to seventh seed Vera Zvonareva in a game that was held over from last night.

Male wildcard Daniel Evans was beaten in straight sets by Russian fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko, going down 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.

Andy Murray will be hoping to stem the flow of British defeats when he plays his first-round match against American Robbie Kendrick later this evening.

Meanwhile, reigning women's champion Venus Williams cruised into the second round with a comfortable victory over Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele. Williams won 6-3, 6-2 in the opening game on Centre Court.

Male fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro, who replaced Rafael Nadal at the top of the men's draw, is also through to round two, and there have also been wins for women's seeds Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic.

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