Wimbledon 2023: Dominant Aryna Sabalenka cruises into second round with victory over Panna Udvardy

Aryna Sabalenka enjoyed a straight sets 6-3 6-1 victory over Panna Udvardy in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday evening.

Sabalenka came into the match as one of the favourites to win the tournament outright, and the Belarusian served up a double fault before holding her serve, and breaking her opponent to go 2-0 games up.

Her Hungarian opponent, ranked No. 85 in the world, was no match for a player who has already won the Australian Open and Madrid Open so far in 2023.

Udvardy finally got a game on the board to move 3-1 behind, and she held onto her service game without breaking back as she lost the first set.

Sabalenka broke early in the second as she moved 3-1 clear with little difficulty in what was proving to be a routine win.

She used her power to keep rallies to a minimum as she closed out the second set 6-1.

Speaking after her win, she told the BBC after a year’s absence that, “I was enjoying the atmosphere, I was enjoying my game.

“I think I missed this place a lot, that’s why I played my best tennis today.

“I feel great, I’m feeling good, it’s really good to be one of the favourites at this beautiful tournament. I’ll do my best to make sure I reach as far as I can here at Wimbledon.”

– – –