Top seeds go about their business in ruthless fashion

Jungle law applies when the top seeds fly through the first round. It becomes pick a topic. Grunting? The players' boycott? Muscularity in the women's game? Jelena Dokic claiming asylum in the UK? Dropping the curtsy to the royals? Depth or lack of it in the women's game? The Carousel String Quartet being replaced by "Paddy in the Smoke" traditional Irish band in the main artery running through the Wimbledon compound?

Take your pick.

Serena Williams, anxious as the reigning champion not to "Do a Hewitt", successfully whacked Jill Craybas around Centre Court for a 6-3, 6-3 win. A ghostly silence gripped the full stadium as spectators realised just how much of a mismatch was unfolding.

Short bursts of animation was all they could muster after the occasional, if short-lived, feisty demonstrations of resistance from Craybas and magisterial dominance of Williams. Not that Williams was perfect against the 28-year-old whose best result ever at Wimbledon was the second round last year. Too much throttle sometimes pushed her shots wide or long but the errors merely slowed the demolition process rather than put it in jeopardy. Being a fellow American also failed to save Craybas from the pummelling.

"I didn't want to take her for granted at all. I'm sure he (Hewitt) didn't take his opponent for granted but I didn't want to come close. I didn't want to make history by having two defending champions go out," said Williams in defence of her ruthlessness.

Williams is one of a number of top players who are part of a marketing strategy by the WTA which has been emphasising the fitness, strength and competitiveness side of the game with the slogan "Get In Touch With Your Feminine Side".

Each player has also been given a slogan. Serena's is "Some things need a woman's touch" while Jennifer Capriati's is "Hell hath no fury like a woman scored on". Unfortunate one that.

"It's important because not everybody can be 90 pounds," said Williams. "Unfortunately I think that is what our society has believed. All models these days are just drinking coffee, actually drinking wine. Not everyone can do that. And it's not very healthy at all."

The models Inc, Ashley Harkleroad and Maria Sharapova were also on court with the young 16-year-old Russian "cleaning the clock" of her American teen opponent 6-2, 6-1. Sharapova, a huge talent but limited by the WTA in the number of tournaments in which she can compete because of her age, faced accusations that her loud grunting was putting opponents off their game. Monica Seles was also accused of the same idiosyncrasy.

"I try not to make noise. I try to control it. I played well today and I'm really happy with myself. I mean, grunting was the last thing on my mind," she said.

French open champion Justin Henin-Hardenne, also out for her first run, stuttered to start her campaign against the 100th-ranked Ukranian Julia Vakulenko with a 7-5 first set. Sharpening her sights in the second set a brusque 6-1 took her to the second round. Henin-Hardenne, however, continues to suffer from a hand injury, which happened when she fell last week during a tournament in Holland.

"My injury problem is still bothering me," she said. "It's sore and painful. But when I focus on the match I can forget it a bit more."

The 21-year-old explained that the vibrations, when striking the ball, are painful as is the toss during serve.

Unless that clears, there is faint hope of the Belgian advancing to meet Williams in the semi-final, where the American number one hopes to exact revenge for Henin-Hardenne beating her in an acrimonious semi-final in Paris. Revenge. Next week's subject?