Venus Williams suffers her second successive first-round loss in a Grand Slam

Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 6, 2018. Venus Williams of the U.S. in action during the third round match against Netherlands' Kiki Bertens. [REUTERS/Andrew Boyers]

Former French Open runner-up Venus Williams suffered her second successive first-round loss in a Grand Slam as she went down 6-4 6-4 to Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Sunday.

With a chill wind blowing and drizzle falling on the Simonne-Mathieu arena, the 40-year-old Williams began strongly but got bogged down in a baseline battle on a slow surface.