Venus Williams joins sister Serena as a first-round winner

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BEIJING -- Venus Williams, playing like the Wimbledon champion she is, joined sister Serena in the second round of the Olympic tennis tournament Monday.

She beat Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky, 6-3, 6-2, and took the first step on the path to the final and a possible matchup against her sister.

Venus won the gold medal in both singles and doubles in Sydney eight years ago, and is playing doubles here again with Serena. Venus won on her second match point, when Bacsinszky, trying to hit with the veteran, and stronger, Williams, hit long.

Perhaps the highlight of the match for the No. 123rd-ranked Bacsinszky was when she challenged line calls for review by the Hawkeye machine three times in two games and won all three, twice against the same service line judge.

Venus, seeded three spots below her No. 4-seeded sister here but on the opposite side of the draw, will play unseeded Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic, who advanced when India’s Sania Mirza retired when trailing 6-1, 2-1.

-- Bill Dwyre