LONDON: Defending champion Venus Williams moved into the Wimbledon second round today but time caught up with fellow All England Club veterans Kimiko Date Krumm and Jelena Dokic.

Williams, the five-time champion, beat Swiss Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-2 in a sun-kissed Centre Court workout. “It is the best place to be when you are a pro tennis player and I savour every blade of it,” said Williams. While Williams was pondering facing Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko for a place in the last 32, Date Krumm and Dokic’s hopes of a fairytale campaign melted in the Wimbledon heat.

Date Krumm, the 38-year-old Japanese who last played here in 1996, took the first set off Danish ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki but slipped to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 defeat. The Japanese player, making a comeback this year, reached the semi-finals in 1996 and when she made her debut in 1989,

Wozniacki was still a year away from being born. Date Krumm, 20 years older than the blonde Dane, needed extensive medical treatment on her injured thigh as the marathon first round tie took its toll.

Dokic, who made her career breakthrough here in 1999 when she defeated top seed Martina Hingis, before her professional and private life went into a spiral, also needed medical attention. The 26-year-old Australian took the first set off German qualifier Tatjana Malek before losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Dokic complained of feeling dizzy at the end of the second set and had her blood pressure taken at courtside. Malek goes on to tackle Australian 18th seed, and French Open semi-finalist, Samantha Stosur.

Also progressing in the women’s draw was Serbian sixth seed Jelena Jankovic who beat Germany’s Julia Gverges 6-4, 7-6 (7/0) and will face the Czech Iveta Benesova who saw off Britain’s Katie O’Brien.

In the men’s first round, Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros, brushed aside France’s Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. There were also wins for Chilean 10th seed Fernando Gonzalez, Russian 12th seed Nikolay Davydenko and Tommy Haas, the German 24th seed and a winner on grass at Halle last week.

In a late match on Monday, fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic had to rally from

a set down to overcome the 81st-ranked Julien Benneteau 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4.