TENNIS in DEPTH.

Venus Williams moves her road show to No.1 Court for the second match in defence of her title. The opposition is provided by the younger of the Bondarenko sisters, the 22-year-old Kateryna, who collected just six games in their only previous meeting, indoors at Stuttgart last year.

The women’s top seed, Dinara Safina, the current French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, the recent world number ones from Serbia, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, and the 2006 Wimbledon champion, Amelie Mauresmo, are all scheduled for appearances on the lesser show courts. But a glamour spot is offered on Centre Court between the two big men’s matches to a fast-rising star, Caroline Wozniacki.

Born in Denmark of Polish parents, Caroline is already, at the age of 18, able to call Monte Carlo her place of abode and has had some sensible advice in her short senior career, having worked with Andre Agassi’s guru, Gil Reyes, on her fitness in Las Vegas. Reyes calls her work rate “nothing short of amazing” .

Caroline has faced this afternoon’s opponent, the 22-year-old Russian Maria Kirilenko once before, at Indian Wells last year, and cleaned up at the cost of just two games. More of the same, please. It would make a neat change from Andymonium.

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