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Cavaday fails to eclipse Venus
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24 January 2008
Cavaday, a wild card ranked 197th in the world, broke Williams in the opening game of the first round match and raced into a 3-1 lead.
But four-time champion Williams broke back before winning the set on a tie-break and then won six games in a row to complete a 7-6 (7/5) 6-1 victory on Centre Court.
"She played a great match, she was putting a lot of pace on the ball and forced a few errors from me but I felt confident through the match," Williams told BBC1.
"I always feel good on that court but I'm always looking to improve."
Cavaday had not won a match in two previous appearances at the All England Club, although she did hold two match points against former world number one Martina Hingis last year before losing in three sets.
And it came as no surprise that she was unable to maintain her blistering start, Williams slowly finding her range to break back to level at 3-3.
To Cavaday's credit, she then saved two more break points in her next service game and held on under increasing pressure to force a tie-break. The 19-year-old from Kent continued to produce some impressive winners but also a number of unforced errors at crucial times as Williams edged it 7-5 after 56 minutes.
The British number five managed to hold serve in the opening game of the second set but was soon broken as the number of errors began to creep upwards.
Williams dropped just one point through a double fault before sealing the second set after just 20 minutes. Williams' second singles assignment will be against another Briton, Anne Keothavong.
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