LONDON, June 22- Serena Williams started the defence of her Wimbledon title with a straight sets win Tuesday, comfortably seeing off Portuguese teenager Michelle Larcher de Brito despite a spirited fightback.The American world number one defeated the 17-year-old, who is known for her loud grunting, 6-0, 6-4 inside an hour and three minutes on Centre Court with an impressive display of power hitting.
"When I saw the draw, I thought, oh, last time I played her it was a really tough match, so I’m really glad to get through," the top seed said.
Williams faces either Russia’s Anna Chakvetadze in the second round.
The defending men’s champion gets the honour of opening on Centre Court on day one of the tournament, while the ladies’ title holder opens the second day.
But while Roger Federer was forced to come back from two sets down and had to break Alejandro Falla’s serve to save the match, there was no such trouble for Williams.
They pair had only faced each other once before, at Stanford in 2008, when Williams won in three sets after losing the first.
But the Lisbon right-hander did not come near taking a set this time, as her service faltered and Williams remained in control.