Nadal on form at Wimbledon

Updated 20.36 Tue Jun 26 2007

Keywords: Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal, Venus Williams

Rafael Nadal had little to quibble about after cruising into the second round of Wimbledon.

The second seeded-Spaniard was not at his sparkling best but he proved too strong for big-serving American Mardy Fish, winning 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in two hours and 18 minutes on Centre Court.

Three-times champion Venus Williams was almost the victim of a huge shock before finally beating unseeded teenager Alla Kudryavtseva 2-6 6-3 7-5

Former champion Lleyton Hewitt made light work of his first round match against British wildcard Richard Bloomfield at Wimbledon, winning 7-5 6-3 7-5.

Three-times champion Venus Williams was almost the victim of a huge shock before finally beating unseeded teenager Alla Kudryavtseva 2-6 6-3 7-5.

Katie O'Brien pointed to the biggest pay cheque of her career as vindication of her decision to turn her back on university.

The 21-year-old from Yorkshire picked up a guaranteed £16,325 after becoming the first British player to reach the second round of Wimbledon with a hard-fought victory over Germany's Sandra Kloesel.

O'Brien, the new British number one, recorded her first victory at the All England Club in four attempts with a 6-3 7-5 win over Kloesel on court 17.