Aryna Sabalenka rated her Wimbledon first-round performance as an “eight out of 10” as she began her campaign with a commanding win over qualifier Teodora Kostovic.
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam where world number one Sabalenka has not reached the final, having fallen three times in the last four.
Having suffered a surprising and crushing quarter-final loss as last month’s French Open, Sabalenka avoided an early mis-step at the All England Club with a 6-2 6-3 win in 65 minutes.
“I have to say, for the first match, I feel pretty good,” said Sabalenka, who hit 22 winners to the 19-year-old Serb’s 10.
“I rate myself eight out of 10.”
The Belarusian did not face a break point until she was 5-1 up in the second set and serving for the match, when a brief blip saw her drop serve for the first time.
However, she recovered immediately to break back and avoid falling to the same fate that she did in the last eight of Roland Garros, where she capitulated from a set and 4-1 up against Diana Shnaider before losing the deciding set 6-0.
Sabalenka, who joked she wanted to “quit tennis” after that defeat, then lost another third set 6-0 a few weeks later to Jessica Pegula in Berlin.
However, her bid for a first grass-court title and first major on a surface other than a hard court got off to a successful start on the opening day of the Championships.
She will face American McCartney Kessler in the second round.
- Defending champion Sinner survives five-set scare
- Draper out of Wimbledon as injury struggles continue
Chwalinska slips on match point – then suffers defeat
French Open runner-up Maja Chwalinska was one point away from winning her Wimbledon first-round match before a slip on the grass changed everything.
Poland’s Chwalinska stormed to the Roland Garros final as a qualifier in June and looked set to continue her good form at 6-2 5-2 up against Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
Chwalinska created a match point on her opponent’s serve, but, while running for a forehand at the back of the court, slipped and fell awkwardly.
The 24-year-old gingerly got to her feet and touched the back of her right ankle before grimacing.
After qualifier Sawangkaew held serve, Chwalinska called for the physiotherapist and put an ice towel around her face as she received a medical timeout.
But with her ankle heavily strapped she lost the next five games as Thailand’s Sawangkaew forced a decider, and the Pole’s movement only grew worse in the third set.
Chwalinska also appeared to be suffering with a lower back problem as she fell to a 2-6 7-5 6-2 defeat.
The pair shared a hug at the net before a group of Polish fans sang Chwalinska’s name as she left the court, with one official carrying her kit bag for her to try and protect her back.
“It’s Wimbledon. I don’t want to retire [injured] in Wimbledon,” Chwalinska said.
“I think I would have many regrets if I would retire, so I just wanted to continue.”
‘Curse has been lifted’ – relieved Pegula wins opener
Earlier, American fourth seed Pegula joked she had broken her Wimbledon curse after reaching the second round, a year on from her shock first-round exit.
Pegula was one of the favourites for the title last year, having won a grass-court title in Bad Homburg in the build-up to the championships.
Her friend, 2021 Australian Open runner-up Jennifer Brady, was so confident that she texted Pegula on the eve of the tournament: “I think you’re winning Wimbledon.”
However, Pegula suffered a 58-minute 6-2 6-3 loss to Elisabetta Cocciaretto on an opening day full of shocks.
This year, she grew in confidence to beat Czech Darja Vidmanova 7-5 6-3.
Pegula left Brady – who she co-hosts a podcast with – a ticket but said her friend could not get there for the start of the match.
“She was like, I’m not going to mess anything up. We have not talked about my results this year at Wimbledon,” Pegula joked.
“The curse has been lifted, for sure.
“I definitely wanted to redeem myself a bit from last year’s exit and then also the early exit at the French [Open].”
Pegula, who beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in Berlin in the build-up to Wimbledon, will face Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo next.
O que achou dessa notĂcia? Deixe um comentĂĄrio abaixo e/ou compartilhe em suas redes sociais. Assim conseguiremos informar mais pessoas sobre o que acontece no mundo do tĂȘnis!
Convidamos vocĂȘ a clicar em PĂĄgina de Parceiros para conhecer os parceiros do TĂȘnis Portal e acessar seus sites.
Esta notĂcia foi originalmente publicada em: Fonte original