WIMBLEDON - EVEN on one good leg, Venus Williams is tough to beat at Wimbledon.

The five-time champion wore a strap on her left knee on Thursday but still advanced to the third round by beating Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-3, 6-2.

In the men's draw, No 5 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina became the highest seed to be eliminated so far, losing in straight sets to Lleyton Hewitt of Australia.

Tournament favourite Williams has been hampered by knee trouble in the past, but there was no indication of a problem this week until she walked onto sunny Court 1 bandaged from mid-calf to mid-thigh.

Williams let out a yelp when she appeared to pull up on a backhand in the third game, perhaps because of the knee. Otherwise she moved across the grass freely, charging forward to pounce on short balls. She won 17 points at the net to two for Bondarenko.

Pressed about what was wrong with her knee, she said: 'What happened was that I needed some support, and then I went and got the support, and then I wore it in the match. I'll be wearing it in doubles, too. So it's working out.

Williams wore the strap again later when she and sister Serena beat Virginie Razzano and Aravane Rezai in doubles, 6-3, 6-3.

Hewitt, who won Wimbledon in 2002, beat del Potro 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 to break an 11-match losing streak against top-five players.

Hewitt was broken for the first time when serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, but broke right back. He then double-faulted on his first match point in the next game before del Potro sent a shot long on the second. -- AP