World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka began her Wimbledon title pursuit with a dominant first-round win over Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic on Monday.
The four-time Major winner took the opening set in 32 minutes, using her powerful first serve and aggressive groundstrokes to overwhelm the 19-year-old.
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Kostovic, ranked 184th in the world, was making her Grand Slam debut after defeating Zhu Lin in the final qualifying round.
The teenager had expressed confidence ahead of the match.
"Let's see if she can deal with my power," Kostovic said before the match. "Of course I can beat her.
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I can beat anybody when I'm in the zone."
Despite her defiant posture, Kostovic struggled to match Sabalenka's pace on Centre Court. The match was the first career meeting between the two players.
Sabalenka arrived at the All England Club following a quarterfinal exit at Roland Garros. She has reached the semifinals at Wimbledon three times previously.
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Meanwhile, British hope Emma Raducanu withdrew from the tournament at the last minute due to a stress fracture.
