Serena Williams up and running at Wimbledon with Gasparyan Margarita win

Serena Williams has kept alive her hopes of claiming a clean sweep of Grand Slam titles in a single season by beating Margarita Gasparyan in her opening Wimbledon clash.

The world number one, who is seeking a sixth career success at SW19 this year, recorded a 6-4 6-1 straight-sets win to advance through.

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Williams was on the back foot from the off, however, after losing her serve in the opening game of the Court 1 affair.

A tense sixth game which swung both ways was eventually taken by the American to level things up, bouncing back from that early setback to take the opener with a break of her own.

Williams then broke Gasparyan in the opening game of the second set, but she had to save three break points in the fifth to remain a break to the good.

Having maintained her foothold on things, the 2015 Australian Open and French Open champion ended the Russian qualifier's hopes of a shock by wrapping things up in a convincing manner in the end.