Wimbledon 2013: Serena Williams, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga proceed to 2nd round

Serena Williams in action against Mandy Minella. Williams won the match 6-1, 6-3. PHOTO/Sang Tan/AP

Serena Williams has started her Wimbledon title defence with a routine victory over Mandy Minella of Luxembourg, using her dominant serve to win 6-1, 6-3 on Center Court.

Williams didn’t drop a single point on her serve until a minor glitch at the start of the second set, when Minella took a 2-0 lead after the American double-faulted on break point on Tuesday.

But Williams won the next four games to regain control, and broke again to wrap up the match.

Williams is looking for her sixth Wimbledon title and improved her career record to 68-8 at the All England Club. She extended her career-best winning streak to 32 matches, which included her second French Open title.

The 92nd-ranked Minella was making her second appearance at Wimbledon, having lost in the first round in 2012.

Meanwhile, Sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France eased into the second round of Wimbledon with a 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-3 win over David Goffin of Belgium on Monday.

Tsonga will next face either fellow Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin or Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press