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Times WiresAndre Agassi struggles briefly and Jennifer Capriati cruises to join defending champion in second round.
WIMBLEDON, England - Three points into her first match since the Slam Streak ended, Serena Williams faulted. The Centre Court crowd responded with - silence.
Ah, such sweet silence.
Trying to forget the French Open - all of it: the loss to Justine Henin-Hardenne, the fans who cheered her mistakes, the postmatch tears - Williams was close to her powerful best at Wimbledon in a 6-3, 6-3 first-round win Tuesday over American Jill Craybas.
"Whatever happened in Paris," the top-seeded Williams said, "stays in Paris."
Never was there a hint she might stumble the way fellow defending champion Lleyton Hewitt did Monday, losing to a qualifier ranked 203rd.
"I wanted to make sure I was on my toes," Williams said. "I didn't want to make history by having two No.1 defending champions go out."
Instead, the first round provided more evidence that the gulf between the top players and other women is far greater than among the men. The highest-seeded woman to lose so far is No.19 Meghan Shaughnessy, and none in the top 10 so much as dropped a set. That included No.3 Henin-Hardenne and No.8 Jennifer Capriati.
Eleven seeded men are gone already. Even 1992 champion Andre Agassi, trying to break the record for most years between Wimbledon titles, and four-time semifinalist Tim Henman dealt with moments of trepidation against undistinguished opponents.
The 33-year-old Agassi, oldest No.1 in ATP Tour history and owner of eight Grand Slam titles, eliminated 456th-ranked Jamie Delgado 6-4, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4. Henman got past 157th-ranked Tomas Zib 6-2, 7-6 (11), 3-6, 6-1.
"It again goes to emphasize the strength and depth of the men's game. In the top 200 or 250, everybody can play," said Henman, trying to become the first Englishman since 1936 to win Wimbledon.
Six men shared the past six Grand Slam titles. Just a trio of women - the Williams sisters and Capriati - split the 11 majors preceding the French Open.
Henin-Hardenne, of course, claimed her first major at Roland Garros after ending Williams' 33-match winning streak and four-title run at Grand Slams. That surprise came in the semifinals; they could meet at the same stage at Wimbledon.
In beating Julia Vakulenko 7-5, 6-1 on Tuesday, Henin-Hardenne showed no ill effects of the hand injury that forced her to quit in the final of a tuneup event Saturday. Her left (non-racket) hand and two fingers were bandaged.
As for Williams, she was quite focused and aggressive against 66th-ranked Craybas, hammering six aces, collecting 26 winners and taking the point on all nine trips to the net, an aspect of her game that troubled her in Paris.
"She does so many things well," Craybas said. "She moves well. She can crack the ball when she wants."
That power is a big reason Williams and her sister, Venus, surged to the top of women's tennis in the past few years.
LOUDER!: With every shot, Maria Sharapova lets out anything from a muted groan to a high-pitched shriek.
"She grunts loud, yes," said Saddlebrook's Ashley Harkleroad, who lost 6-2, 6-1 to the 16-year-old Russian. "There are some other girls that get annoyed with it and think it's ridiculous with her. But to me, I don't really think about it that much."
With the match all but decided late in the second set, the 18-year-old Harkleroad shouted to Sharapova: "Louder."
The crowd on Court No.2 laughed. So did Harkleroad.
"I actually grunt pretty loud, too, especially if I'm playing her," Harkleroad said.
Sharapova was loud at times in the first round but seemed to muffle a few screams.
"I try not to make noise, but it's just something I've been doing all my life since I've been playing tennis," she said. "It's something that I try to control but my mouth doesn't control the way I play. It's just a mouth."
Asked about Sharapova's volume, defending champion Serena Williams said: "It's only distracting if you make it distracting. And if you listen to it, it will be distracting."
BOYCOTT THREATENED: The men are talking tough, threatening a boycott of Grand Slam tournaments, which are run independently of the tour. They have discussed holding charity events that would conflict with Grand Slam dates. They want a bigger piece of the pie, which essentially amounts to a 150 percent pay increase.
But when push comes to shove, doesn't sound like they'd walk.
"I find it hard to believe," Lleyton Hewitt said.
Agassi didn't sound too militant either.
"I can see the game of tennis benefiting from a lot of changes, to be quite honest," Agassi said. "But I choose not to talk about it in Wimbledon's back yard. These championships are incredible and we're all privileged and honored to be here."
FASTEST SERVE: The record for fastest serve in history might be in jeopardy today when Andy Roddick plays Greg Rusedski in a second-round match.
The players share the record at 149 miles per hour. With sunshine forecast, Rusedski said conditions might be right for setting a new mark because balls travel faster in warm weather.