10,000-seat Tennis Centre stadium court for his opening Olympic match against American Vince Spadea and the 13th-seeded Bermuda-based player did not disappoint with a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

The audience erupted into high-decibel cheers to greet the two-time US Open champion and his service winner that clattered off Spadea's racket on match-point ignited an even more explosive roar in the circular stadium.

"There are some good voices out there,'' noted Rafter, who answered the roars by kicking a tennis ball high into the seats.

"The stadium has a good feeling, a great atmosphere. It sort of echoes out there.'' All-conquering Venus Williams closed the opening day at the tournament with a sparkling display that lit up the night at Olympic Park.

Williams extended a winning streak that has included the Wimbledon and US Open championships to 27 matches with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia.

The second seed drew oohs and ahs from the knowledgeable crowd with her all-out hitting, her volleying and dazzling court coverage.

Williams, however, said she would take nothing for granted despite her recent record.

"On any given day anyone cam come out and play unbelievable tennis,'' said the 20-year-old. "I have to combat this. I'm focused.

"It just seems like I win every tournament, I come out the winner. It's been real nice. There's a long way to go for that gold medal and a lot of opponents that want it.'' Williams cracked 29 clean winners from all over the court against 10 for the Slovakian.

She seemed to hit the ball twice as hard as Nagyova and hit eight aces -- most of them in the 110 mph range.

Williams and Nagyova had been forced to wait more than an hour longer than expected as Romanian Andrei Pavel extended third seed Magnus Norman of Sweden in the third set before Norman prevailed 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 10-8 in a two hour, 45 minute marathon.

Norman said he was struggling to find his best form despite targeting the Olympics all year.

"It's very special to play for my country, because it means a lot to me and it has been one of my priorities this year to play good here,'' he said.

American Monica Seles came within one game of registering the first Olympic tennis whitewash for 80 years when she trounced Hungarian Katalin Marosi-Aracama 6-0, 6-1 in the first round.

French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, seeded second, lost one more game than Seles but was quicker by 10 minutes in dispatching wild card Christophe Pognon of Benin 6-1, 6-1 in just 38 minutes.

Kuerten said: "I can't remember ever having won a faster match. I've lost in less time, but that was in the under-10s.'' Seles' compatriot, US Open semi-finalist Todd Martin, suffered one of the biggest shocks of the day as he crashed 6-2, 6-0 to German Rainer Schuttler.

Martin looked helpless against the blistering passing shots Schuttler fired from both wings, but the American may have been feeling less than his best. He had his left wrist wrapped by a trainer during the match.

The first upset of the tournament was registered by 21-year-old Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia, who ousted France's error-prone Amelie Mauresmo, the ninth seed, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 on centre court.

Men's eighth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain nearly beat Mauresmo to the sidelines but he survived a difficult challenge from up-and-coming South Korean Lee Hyung-taik for a 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 victory on Court Six.

Lee burst on the scene earlier this month at the US Open, where he became the first men's player from his country to win a grand slam tournament match and advanced to the fourth round before falling to eventual finalist Pete Sampras.

Superwoman: Venus Williams on her way to a comprehensive first-round Olympic victory.