Venus Williams may be older but she's smarter

Venus Williams eased into the second round of Wimbledon and warned her experience makes her more dangerous than ever.

Williams, who turned 31 on Friday, made a fashion statement in an unusual outfit but hardly broke sweat as she swept aside Akgul Amanmuradova 6-3, 6-1 in their first-round showdown on Court Two.

The five-time Wimbledon champion is playing only her second tournament since withdrawing from the Australian Open with a hip injury and she improved as her opening match match progressed. Far from fearing the decline of her powers, she believes the years of competition have left her better equipped.

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"I'm smarter than I was five years ago. The beauty of being able to have a long career is being able to use the experience that you learn on the court," Williams said. "More and more players are starting to realise that it's an advantage to be able to play longer, because then you actually understand the game."

Though one of the more senior competitors on the tour, Williams is not comfortable being described as 'old school'.

"Old school has a lot of good connotations, but I'm not sure in the style of my game I'd be old school," she said. "I still think I come out with a lot of new moves."

While Williams is keen to stress she remains in her prime, there is no doubting the veteran status of next opponent Kimiko Date-Krumm, who crushed Britain's Katie O'Brien 6-0, 7-5 to set up their second-round appointment.

Date-Krumm is 40 years old, returning to the game in 2009 after retiring for 12 years, and Williams hints at the empathy she shares with her opponent.

"It was amazing when she came back. I've watched her results, she's been playing so well. I always root for her actually," she said. "But now I'm playing her, so I will be rooting for me this time. I know grass has always been a really good surface for her, especially with the game that she plays."

Williams was in full cry as she bludgeoned the world No 97 from Uzbekistan into submission with a typically powerful display. Amanmuradova offered spirited resistance in the first set against the 23rd seed, but Williams was always in control as she continued to shake off the rust. An appearance at Eastbourne last week, where she reached the quarter-finals, was her first taste of action since sustaining her injury in January.

It was only a month ago that the Florida resident was able to resume practice at full throttle. "It's always great to be back at Wimbledon. I played a few matches in Eastbourne I think helped me to feel pretty comfortable here," Williams said. "All in all I was pretty pleased to play today. Coming into any major there's a little bit of tension."

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