Defending champ says bandage is only for support; enters Round Three

Defending champion Venus Williams expertly deflected questions about her fitness after cruising into the third round of Wimbledon yesterday.

what a winner: American Venus Williams returns to Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko during their second-round match at Wimbledon yesterday. Williams, who surprised many by turning up with a bandage around her knee, won 6-3, 6-2.

Williams emerged onto Court One with bandaging around her left knee, but showed no ill effects as she cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Kateryna Bondarenko in just 69 minutes. But while the win was straightforward, Williams not so when questioned about the reason for the strapping in her post-match press conference.

"I felt really comfortable in the strap, and it was really nice. It was just for support," she said.

"What happened was that I needed some support, and then I went and got the support, and then I wore it in the match. I'll be wearing it in doubles too so it's working out. I think all the players might start wearing it because it's so supportive."

Pressed on why she needed the support today and not in the first round, Williams added: "I really hate tape, but I just needed it this time. I accepted that and I realise that this is Wimbledon. So since it was Wimbledon, I taped. The match worked all right, so it helped."

The knee admittedly did not seem to cause Williams any problems as she secured a 16th successive singles victory at the All England Club, and the 29-year-old added: "That's a great stat for me, a great achievement and I want to make it more. Everything was working for me today."

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