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. Williams lost the first five games and then saved two set points before making it 5-1. But she was broken for the fourth time in the next game as Vesnina clinched the set with a forehand return winner.
Williams put up more of a fight in the second 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.
