Maria Sharapova outclassed Anna Chakvetadze in an all-Russian match in the first round of Wimbledon, 6-2 6-1. The 52nd-ranked Chakvetadze broke Sharapova's serve only once, in the beginning of the second set, and Sharapova won all the following games.

Besides Venus and Serena Williams, Sharapova is the only WTA player in the draw who has won Wimbledon. The former world No.1 Russian followed her 2004 Wimbledon triumph with two semifinal showings, but has since failed to go past the fourth round. This year she is one of the favorites for the title, if not the biggest favorite (which our poll results are currently demonstrating as well), especially because of her recent form shown in Rome and Paris. Read more »

World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki and twice defending champion Serena Williams both won their opening matches at Wimbledon 2011.

The top-seeded Wozniacki complained about the wind which was changing the course of her shots, but still she straightforwardly won her first match on grass this season 6-2 6-1 against world No.105 Arantxa Parra Santonja. Wozniacki's number of winners was not much greater than her opponent's, just 14 to 11, but the greater discrepancy in unforced errors gave Wozniacki the obvious advantage, 4 to 15.

Remember that as a Wimbledon warm-up Wozniacki played, and won, a hard-court tournament?

Serena had a tough test in the first round against world No.61 Aravane Rezai and after a 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory sealed with her 13th ace, Serena, who had been away with injury and illness for almost a year, was overwhelmed with emotions, put her head in a towel and wept. I'd like to mention that Serena hit 9 aces more than her opponent, but when it comes to winners, she had just two more, 24 to 22.

As I'm talking about Serena and Caroline in the same article, I'd like to mention Serena's recent interview in which she actually praises the current state of women's tennis.

I think the tour's doing fine. Great new campaigns going on, so much going on in women's tennis. There's so much depth in women's tennis. It's good. Everyone's playing so hard.

Fashion info: Wozniacki is sticking with her weird Adidas by Stella McCartney ruffles, only now in white. Serena is sporting a Fila-like Nike dress with a deep V-neck and a vertical black line as an accent. The name of the dress is Nike Women's Fall Smash Lawn Dress. (photos via Wimbledon)

Venus Williams once again made an outfit pushing the fashion limits, only this time in a much better way than her shocking Australian Open 2011 choices and the most of the provocative 2010 season dresses. The American five-time Wimbledon champion (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008) cruised into the second round 6-3 6-1 without facing a break point against Akgul Amanmuradova in a white EleVen clothing item with a dominant zipper in the middle. When I first saw it I first called it a thing, because it is not a dress, it is not a two-piece outfit, but Venus herself later clarified the situation: Read more »

Bethanie Mattek Sands always grabs attention with her tennis clothes and the Wimbedon player party dress was not all the fashion fun she prepared for us this grass season. Her cooperation with Alex Noble, Lady Gaga's designer, is reaching the tennis courts as well, and its first showing will be at Wimbledon, the most strict and traditional tennis tournament. Bethanie will not cross the boundaries of the all-white clothing rule, but her outfit will be over-the-top.

We can expect white tennis balls to adorn her outfit, some sort of accessory, that's all we know now. Here's Bethanie's hint:

I have something of his that I'm going to wear onto the court, but I can't play in it. It's my big surprise for Wimbledon.

Additional info: Bethanie is having the seeding of No.30 at this year's Wimbledon and it's actually the first time she's seeded in a Grand Slam event. Bethanie's opponent in the first round will be Japan's Misaki Doi ranked No.133. (photo via lucas67, source: ESPN)

As our faithful reader P!nky suggested, I'm making a poll for Wimbledon, a bit reluctantly, though, as Roland Garros winner Li Na was not even included in my Roland Garros poll which featured twelve names. This time I've narrowed down my list a bit, but if the player you favor is not included, feel free to add her in the comments section.

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Li Na is here because grass is her good surface and she won the French Open recently, although she did lose early to Daniela Hantuchova at the AEGON International. Talking about Hantuchova, I think her current form gives her big credentials for this year's Wimbledon, although her retirement in the semifinal against Petra Kvitova at Eastbourne is worrying. Kvitova played the Wimbledon semifinals last year and this weekend she played the final of Eastbourne which she lost to Marion Bartoli. I wanted to give justice to Bartoli and include her as well, because she won on the grass of the Wimbledon tune-up, has had a great win-loss record recently and played the final of Wimbledon in 2007. Caroline Wozniacki is world No.1, so she has to make the list. Serena Williams is defending champion, although she didn't impress in the lead-up to Wimbledon, while her sister Venus won the tournament five times. And last but not least, the 2004 champion Maria Sharapova, who played impressively this clay-court season, and grass is her much better surface.

What do you say? Who do you think has the greatest chance to win Wimbledon 2011? (photo: Fimb)

Bethanie Mattek Sands kept her promise and the dress that she announced last month would be the outcome of her cooperation with Lady Gaga's designer Alex Noble was finally revealed at Thursday evening's Pre-Wimbledon Party. And just like the fashion experimentalist hinted, the dress is made of tennis balls.

I was slowly browsing the WTA's photo gallery from the event and reading the names of designers that players were wearing, like Caroline Wozniacki in Stella McCartney, Laura Robson and Heather Watson in Temperley and Mulberry, and then my eyes landed on a yellow costume. After a few moments of confusion I remembered Bethanie's cooperation with Alex and I was like "oh, that's the dress we've been waiting for".

When I first saw Bethanie's outfit I was shocked, mostly because of the screaming color and because she looks like a circus performer, but the more I examine the outfit, the more I realize the tennis balls were actually blended into a dress pretty well, and the overall look can be seen as feminine. The hat is weird, but it does contribute to the shock effect. The shoes, well, they match.

Can we give Bethanie and Alex thumbs up for their fashion project? Do you like Bethanie's gown?

Also, if you like Bethanie's fashion, enjoy the gallery of her out-of-the-ordinary tennis clothes.

The current Big Three of women's tennis, if I may call them that way – Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters – had very much different Wednesday. Serena lost in Eastbourne, Venus won, while Kim faced the fact that she would have to withdraw from Wimbledon because of her injury sustained yesterday in 's-Hertogenbosch.

Serena Williams survived a scrappy first-round encounter with Tsvetana Pironkova, but top seed Vera Zvonareva was a sterner opponent and even though Serena led 6-4 5-4 Zvonareva prolonged the match and won it 3-6 7-6(5) 7-5 after three hours and 12 minutes of play. Positive news for Serena today is her Wimbledon seeding. The defending champion will be seed No.7, which is 19 places higher than her ranking, and will avoid the highest-ranked opponents until at least the quarterfinals. Read more »

Men's tennis star Andy Roddick says that Serena Williams' return will bring a much-needed strength to the women's game and he's welcoming the comeback of his fellow American.

Roddick thinks that women’s tennis has not been in good situation without Serena:

I mean, I think, no disrespect to any of the women that are playing right now, but I think women's tennis needs that dominating figure.

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