Venus Williams loses in 1st round at Wimbledon; defending champ Djokovic wins his

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Five-time champion Venus Williams lost in the opening round of Wimbledon for the first time since 1997, falling 6-1, 6-3 to Elena Vesnina of Russia on Monday.

Williams had lost in the second round at the French Open, her first Grand Slam action since Aug. 29, 2011, at the U.S. Open; two days later, she pulled out of her second-round match at that tournament, revealing that she'd been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.

The unseeded Williams lost the first five games Monday. She put up more of a fight in the second set but was broken in the sixth game when she missed a forehand. Vesnina clinched the match with a service winner.

Williams was making her 16th straight appearance at Wimbledon and had not lost in the first round since her debut.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic has won his opening match at Wimbledon by beating former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.

In keeping with custom, the defending men's champ played the first match Monday on Centre Court. Djokovic was broken in his second service game but held the rest of the way, losing only nine points on his first serve. He had 13 aces.

The top-ranked Djokovic is bidding for his sixth Grand Slam title. He won three in a row before losing the French Open final to Rafael Nadal two weeks ago.

The only defending men's champion to lose a first-round match at Wimbledon in the Open era was Lleyton Hewitt in 2003.

Tags: sports, tennis