Venus Williams escapes from 'Graveyard of Champions'

Updated: June 27, 2007, 10:06 AM ET

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Venus Bounces Back To Win in Rd 1

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WIMBLEDON, England -- Three-time champion Venus Williams came back from a break down in the last two sets to avoid a major first-round surprise Tuesday against a Russian teenager playing her first match at Wimbledon.

Williams appeared on the brink of defeat, but came up with big first serves and baseline winners on crucial points to overcome Alla Kudryavtseva 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in nearly two hours on Court 2 -- known as the "Graveyard of Champions" for its history of upsets.

Williams was two points from defeat while serving at 5-4 down, 30-30, in the final set. But the Russian missed a backhand, and Williams smacked a 119 mph service winner to hold. Williams then broke in the next game and served out the match at love.

For a while, it looked like Williams would go out in the opening round for the first time since her Wimbledon debut in 1997. Since then, she won the title in 2000, '01 and '05, and finished runner-up twice to her sister, Serena, in 2002 and 2003.

Her sister Serena Williams, seated courtside with their mother, Oracene Price, called out encouragement and advice throughout the match.

"It's so important to have that support," Venus Williams said. "It was definitely key today for my win."

The 19-year-old Kudryavtseva, who was born in Moscow but lives in Miami, is ranked No. 59. She reached the second round at the Australian Open and the third round at Roland Garros this year, and pushed Williams to the limit with a tenacious game and fighting spirit.

After losing the first set in a flood of errors, Williams fell behind 2-0 in the second. But she won six of the next seven games to send the match into a third set.

"I enjoy the battle," Williams said. "I enjoy winning matches like this. This is what I do. If you want to be successful at anything, it doesn't come easy."

The Russian went up 3-1, but Williams broke back for 3-2 and registered the decisive break in the 11th game. The set featured long rallies, tight games and several disputed line calls. At various times, Kudryavtseva slammed her racket on the turf and against the back fence, smacked a ball in anger and complained to the chair umpire. She was in tears as she walked off the court.

Two other Wimbledon women's champions had a much easier time in reaching the second round. Defending champion Amelie Mauresmo beat Jamea Jackson of the United States 6-1, 6-3, while 2004 winner Maria Sharapova downed Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan 6-1, 7-5.

Third-seeded Jelena Jankovic, No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 8 Anna Chakvetadze were also winners.

A year after winning her first Wimbledon title, Mauresmo returned to Centre Court as if she'd never been away.

The Frenchwoman, her attacking game suited to the slick grass surface, took slightly more than an hour to beat Jamea Jackson of the United States 6-1, 6-3 Tuesday on another cloudy, chilly day at the All England Club.

Mauresmo, who beat Justin Henin in last year's final, is seeded only No. 4 because she was sidelined following an appendectomy in March and had a groin problem that contributed to an early exit at the French Open.

"It's great to be back as the defending champion here,'' Mauresmo said. "I feel good. This year is a little bit different because I didn't feel that well at the French Open, so it definitely makes it better here this year for me.''

Mauresmo was never really tested by the 158th-ranked Jackson, who underwent hip surgery in December, hasn't won a match on the main tour this year and looked shaky in her first Centre Court appearance.

Mauresmo, who set the tone by going to the net on the first point for a winning forehand volley, raced to a 5-0 lead before the 20-year-old Jackson held serve for her first game.

Jackson settled down and took more chances in the second set, but it wasn't enough. Mauresmo finished with 21 winners and 12 unforced errors, while Jackson had nine winners and 15 errors.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.