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Russia's Maria Sharapova gathered her poise after a slow start to claim a 7-5 6-4 victory over Ukrainian qualifier Viktoriya Kutuzova and a place in the second round at Wimbledon.

Sharapova, ranked 60th in the world but given a special seeding of 24, slumped to a quick 4-1 deficit in the opening set but saved a set point and bounced back to seal the opener.

Kutuzova, the world number 79, pushed Sharapova hard in their first tour meeting but the Russian prevailed on her first match point when the Ukrainian netted a forehand.

Sharapova, the 2004 winner, will face Gisela Dulko for a place in the third round, after the Argentina beat Frenchwoman Stephanie Foretz 7-5 6-3.

Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva cruised through to the second round with a comfortable 6-4 6-1 win over compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva. Dementieva will face Aravane Rezai next, after the Frenchwoman emerged a comfortable 6-2 6-2 winner over Japan's Ayumi Morita.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 31st seed, also eased into the second round, downing Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-2 6-2 for the first result of the day. The Russian will face Italian Roberta Vinci, who beat Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3 6-2.

Tenth seed Nadia Petrova and Alisa Kleybanova, seeded 27th, continued the good run of results for Russia, both enjoying straight sets wins.

Petrova demolished Belarus's Anastasiya Yakimova 6-1 6-1 and will next face Israel's Shahar Peer, who beat Maria Elena Camerin 6-2 7-6(3), while Kleybanova downed Kazakhstan's Sesil Karatantcheva 6-2 7-5, and will play another Russian Regina Kulikova, after the qualifier knocked out former quarter-finalist Karolina Sprem 4-6 7-5 6-3.

American Serena Williams barged her way into the second round with a 6-1 7-5 victory over Portuguese qualifier Neuza Silva.

The second seed, seeking her third title at the All England Club, looked far from her most fluent against a 26-year-old making her first appearance in a Grand Slam, but had plenty in hand as she wrapped up victory in 74 minutes.

Silva gave away the opener in tame fashion but found her feet in the second, Serena making the crucial and only break in the 12th and final game when her inexperienced opponent netted a backhand.

Williams will now face Jarmila Groth for a place in the third round, after the Australian beat former Grand Slam quarter-finalist Lucie Safarova 6-3 3-6 6-3.

Canadian 23rd seed Aleksandra Wozniak, a semi-finalist at Eastbourne last week, crashed out of the tournament, falling 4-6 6-4 6-4 to stubborn Francesca Schiavone.

The Italian will next face Portuguese 16-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito, who has drawn criticism for her loud screaming during matches, booked her place in the second round with a 6-2 7-5 win over Klara Zakopalova.

Belarussian ninth seed Victoria Azarenka and France's Virginie Razzano progressed coutesy of injury with Severine Bremond Beltrame and Tamara Paszek respectively unable to complete their matches.

French 12th seed Marion Bartoli recorded a double bagel 6-0 6-0 win over Chan Yung-Jan, while Slovakia's 14th seed and French Open semi-finalist Dominika Cibulkova beat France's Julie Coin 6-4 3-6 6-3.

Romanian duo Sorana Cirstea, seeded 28th, and Ioana Raluca Olaru booked their place in the second round with wins over Edina Gallovits and Nathalie Dechy, while India's Sania Mirza progressed at the expense of German Anna-Lena Groenefeld.

Swiss 14th seed Patty Schnyder was sent crashing out of the tournament, losing 6-4 6-4 to Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama, while Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky progressed with a 6-1 4-6 8-6 win over Russian Vesna Manasieva.

American Jill Craybas and Elena Vesnina had little trouble in reaching the second round with straight sets wins over Tsetana Pironkova and Yanina Wickmayer respectively, and they were joined by Poland's Urszula Radwanska, who downed Slovenia's Masa Zec Peskiric 6-3 6-3.

Reuters