Aryna Sabalenka kicked off her bid for a second Wimbledon title by dropping just five games in her opening match on Monday.
The world No.1 surged to a 6-2, 6-3 win over teenager Teodora Kostovic. A Serbian 19-year-old who came through three rounds of qualifying to make her Grand Slam main draw debut. During a largely straightforward encounter, Sabalenka’s sole blip occurred during the closing stages when she was broken when serving for victory at 5-2 in the second. However, she broke in the next game to seal the win.
“I have to say, for the first match, I feel pretty good. I rate myself eight out of 10,” Sabalenka said of her latest performance on the grass.
Sabalenka enters Wimbledon hoping to make up for her recent disappointments on the Tour. In her two previous tournaments – the French Open and Berlin Championships – she exited by losing 6-0 in the third sets of her matches. They were against Diana Shnaider and Jessica Pegula.
“I’m happy to be back. I’m happy to play on the Centre Court. Of course, happy with the game,” she said during her press conference.
“Obviously it’s a very short and quick transition (from clay to grass). It’s a lot of work on handling really low balls and coming to the net, approaching the net a bit more. A lot of work on the serve,” she later added.
Sabalenka now has a 12-0 record against qualifiers at Grand Slam events and has won more straight-sets matches than any other player so far this season (26).
Awaiting her in the next round will be McCartney Kessler, who thrashed Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-0, 6-0.
Elsewhere in the women’s draw, French Open champion Mirra Andreeva edged out Magda Linette 7-5, 6-4. Meanwhile, Coco Gauff dropped only three games during her 6-2, 6-1 win over Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch.
