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 WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - "Go, V!" "V! Take your time!" "Hang in there. Keep fighting." "Stay low!" As Venus Williams struggled with her strokes Tuesday against a feisty opponent hoping to spring a significant surprise in her very first Wimbledon match, a voice kept calling out from the third row — coaching, cajoling, cheerleading.
The words of encouragement after nearly every point came from Williams' doubles partner, practice cohort and younger sister, Serena — and they worked. Williams lost the first set, was down a break in each of the others and finally was two points from defeat before climbing all the way back to beat Russian teen Alla Kudryavtseva 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 and reach the second round at the All England Club.
"It's so important to have that support, because I wanted definitely to play better and I was disappointed that I wasn't playing well," said the elder Williams, who won Wimbledon in 2000, 2001 and 2005, and lost to her sister in the 2002 and 2003 finals.
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