Women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka wasted little time getting her Wimbledon title bid underway Monday, dispatching Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic 6-2, 6-3 in a largely one-sided first-round contest.
The world number one arrived at Wimbledon still stinging from a troubling early exit at the French Open, but she showed sharp focus on Centre Court from the very start, winning the first four games of the match against the lower-ranked Kostovic.
While Sabalenka was eventually pushed to work a bit harder, the only real hiccup came when she gave up her serve at 5-2 in the second set. It proved to be nothing more than a brief stumble, as she quickly regrouped and avoided any repeat of the dramatic collapse she experienced in Paris against Diana Shnaider.
Speaking to the crowd — which included former England soccer captain David Beckham — Sabalenka expressed her joy at returning to the grass-court major.
“I’m super excited to be back,” she said. “I was happy I could close this match in straight sets. For the first match I feel pretty good, maybe eight out of 10.”
Sabalenka, who has reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon on each of her last three appearances without advancing further, will next face American McCartney Kessler in the second round.
