Venus Williams loses in 1st round at Wimbledon

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WIMBLEDON, England -- 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.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index

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