Yanina Wickmayer through to Wimbledon’s second round

Belgians Yanina Wickmayer and Alison Van Uytvanck both qualified for the second round of the Wimbledon tennis tournament on Monday.

Wickmayer, seeded 54th in the world, defeated the 17th seed Australian Samantha Stosur, 6-3, 6-4. She was watched from the stands, as at Roland Garros, by the Belgian tennis champion Kim Clijsters. ‘Wicky’ has been training in Kim Clijsters Sports and Health Club in Bree, Limburg province, since April.

Meanwhile, Van Uytvanck, 20, went through to the second round after beating the Romanian Monica Niculescu, seeded 67th in the world, 7-5, 6-3. It’s the first time Van Uytvanck has made it through a Grand Slam opening round having been knocked out at the Australian Open and the French Open already this year.