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.
