LONDON: Serena Williams kicked off her bid for an eighth Wimbledon title with a hard-fought 7-5, 6-3 victory over Holland´s Arantxa Rus on Monday.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion has now won her last 15 singles matches at Wimbledon after clinching the title in 2015 and 2016.
Williams, who missed Wimbledon last year to prepare for the birth of her first child, will play Bulgarian qualifier Viktoriya Tomova or Czech wild card Tereza Smitkova in the second round.