V. Williams Trumps Wimbledon Wild Card

WIMBLEDON, England, June 24 -- Venus Williams may have competed sparingly and won only one tennis tournament (a minor one, at that) in the 12 months since she previously raised the silver salver that is awarded the women's champion at Wimbledon.

But she was back to title-contending form Tuesday after roughly an hour's work on Centre Court, in which she battled a bumblebee and turned back a spirited charge from a 19-year-old British wild card who had the crowd on her side.

The odds were never in Naomi Cavaday's favor, ranked 197th in the world and surrendering half a foot to the 6-foot-1 Williams, who boasts one of the game's bigger serves, breathtaking athleticism and four Wimbledon titles. The bee, arguably, inflicted greater damage, causing Williams to lose her serve in the early going as she tried in vain to swat it away.

But after bolting to a 3-1 lead only to lose the first set in a tiebreak, Cavaday was physically and emotionally sapped. And Williams took swift advantage, cruising to a 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory that delivered exactly what she had hoped: a legitimate struggle, at least for one set, that forced her to shake off the rust of her relative inactivity in a hurry.

"She took her chances, really took advantage of her opportunities, and played with poise on this occasion," Williams said of Cavaday. "So it was good to have that challenge early on."

Day Two of Wimbledon saw the sport's biggest names advance with little difficulty. Like Williams, the tournament's defending champion, neither second-seeded Rafael Nadal, third-seeded Maria Sharapova nor sixth-seeded Andy Roddick lost a set in their first-round matches.

Nadal, bidding for his first Wimbledon title after finishing runner-up to Roger Federer the past two years, blasted 17 aces in dismissing Andreas Beck of Germany, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-0).

Sharapova's 6-1, 6-4 romp over French qualifier Stephanie Foretz seemed so preordained that, once again, more attention was paid to her attire than to her strokes or strategy. The 2004 Wimbledon champion and fashion maven unveiled a new look for the occasion: a tuxedo-inspired outfit that consisted of a sheer, tailored vest with delicate pin-tucks and bow tie, atop a pair of flared shorts.

"I think it's very flattering, especially on women, to be able to pull off a look that's basically menswear," said the 6-2 Sharapova, who collaborates with Nike's designers on her outfits more than 12 months ahead of each Grand Slam event. Last year at Wimbledon, she wore a white gossamer dress inspired by a swan. For a recent U.S. Open, she sported both a day dress and evening wear -- the latter, a black, sequined cocktail-style number that channeled Audrey Hepburn.

"Tennis is not a sport where you have to wear uniforms," Sharapova pointed out. "It's an individual sport."

And for the game's stars, their outfits have become as much an extension of their personalities as their serves, their groundstrokes, their quirky mannerisms between points and their grunts and shrieks.

Nadal, for example, is inseparable from his Nike clam-digger pants and sleeveless shirts -- an ensemble he has worn for four years now, with variations only in the color scheme. The outfit suggests a ruthless, swashbuckling pirate. And though Nadal is among the more polite, soft-spoken and respectful players off the court, he is transformed the moment he steps on it, into that heartless pirate.

When last seen in action, Nadal was eviscerating Federer in the final of the French Open, reducing the Swiss champion to Swiss cheese with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 drubbing.

Nadal was only slightly more kind to Beck on Tuesday at Wimbledon. It's not that the 22-year-old Nadal is immune from making mistakes on court. The Spaniard simply never plays a lax point. He never lacks focus or intensity but plays each point as if it's the most important point of the match, if not his life.

After grinding Beck into submission, Nadal confessed to having been a bit nervous for his first-round match. He thanked the crowd for its support. And he shied away from discussing his prospects of meeting Federer in a third Wimbledon final, saying he had a long way to go.

Roddick, also a two-time Wimbledon runner-up to Federer, proclaimed himself fully recovered from a nagging shoulder injury after blasting 17 aces en route to his 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (7-0) victory over Eduardo Schwank of Argentina. But Roddick got in his best jab at the gold-trimmed cardigan that Federer sported during warmups for his first-round match on Monday.

Asked to critique Federer's fashion choice, Roddick said: "I personally don't care. But you know, I think any attention drawn to tennis for whatever reason is good. If it means wearing the Mr. Rogers sweater -- whatever else you got -- then so be it. I don't know if it would be a good look for me. Or any of my friends. Or relatives."