London: Russia's Elena Vesnina demolished Venus Williams in the first round of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships here Monday while men's World No.1 Novak Djokovic had an easy outing against Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Five-time Wimbledon champion Williams, who was unseeded for the tournament, did not win a game until the sixth game of the first set and fared little better in the second, going down 1-6, 3-6 to Vesnina, a doubles specialist and ranked 79 in singles.

Third seed Agnieszka Radwanska awaits Vesnina in the second round after the Pole brushed off a challenge from Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova. Radwanska ousted 122nd-ranked Rybarikova 6-3, 6-3.

Top seed and defending champion Djokovic reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over the Spaniard. Djokovic, playing for the first time since his French Open final defeat to Rafael Nadal, will face either America's Ryan Harrison or Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan for a place in the third round.

Elsewhere, Flavia Pennetta became the first seed to fall at Wimbledon after a straight-sets defeat to fellow Italian Camila Giorgi.

Pennetta, the 16th seed, succumbed to a 4-6, 3-6 defeat to 145th ranked Giorgi.

In the second round, Giorgi will play Anna Tatishvili of Georgia, who knocked out Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-4, 6-2.

Australia's Samantha Stosur reached the second round after thrashing World No. 40 Carla Suarez Navarro.

Stosur, the reigning US Open champion and World No.5, beat Navarro 6-1, 6-3 and will now face either Dutch player Arantxa Rus.

Last year's French Open champion Li Na booked her place in the next round by trouncing Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-1. She next plays Romania's Sorana Cirstea.

For Li, the 11th seed, the result followed a shock defeat to another outsider from Kazakhstan, Yaroslava Shvedova in the fourth round of the French Open earlier this month.

Germany's Sabine Lisicki, the 15th seed, swept past Croatia's Petra Martic 6-4, 6-2. (IANS/RIA Novosti)