Wimbledon: Sabalenka silences Kostovic in first round

London, June 30 (IANS) World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka defeated Grand Slam debutant Teodora Kostovic in straight sets in a first round clash in Ladies Singles at Wimbledon, making a strong start in the grass court major that she is yet to win title at.

The three-time Wimbledon semifinalist handled Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic 6-2, 6-3 on Centre Court in 64 minutes. On Wednesday, she will face McCartney Kessler, who defeated Oleksandra Olinynkova 6-0, 6-0.

It was the first time that Kostovic, ranked No. 184, played a World No. 1 in her career, and the 19-year-old didn’t hesitate as she tried to play her power game, having questioned whether Sabalenka could handle her power.

Sabalenka did handle Kostovic’s power with 22 winners, silencing her Serbian opponent to just 10 winners and 25 unforced errors. Sabalenka bolted out to a 4-0 lead in the first set, and while Kostovic won the fifth game to earn a large wave of applause from the SW19 crowd, the three-time Wimbledon semifinalist won the first set in just over half an hour.

Similarly, Sabalenka did lose her first-ever match against a World No. 1. Simona Halep, then top-ranked in the sport, handled Sabalenka 6-2, 6-2 in the Shenzhen Open quarterfinals to begin the 2018 season. Sabalenka was ranked No. 73 and was also 19 years old at the time.

Kostovic, known for her fiery personality on court, tried to bring the crowd into the match, evident in her hand gesture for more noise after she broke Sabalenka while she was serving for the match at 5-2 in the second set.

“She brought a really good fight, stepped in a little bit more in the second set, pushed me a little bit more,” Sabalenka said on court. “I’m happy that I was able to close this match in straight sets.”

Ultimately, it was Sabalenka who received the loudest and largest round of applause after thanking the crowd with her racquet with the match complete and a spot secured in the second round.

–IANS

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