[1/3] Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 4, 2023 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka in action during her first round match against Hungary's Panna Udvardy REUTERS/Toby MelvilleLONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - Second seed Aryna Sabalenka made short work of Hungary's Panna Udvardy with a powerful 6-3 6-1 victory to reach the second round at a rainy Wimbledon on Tuesday.
"I didn't realise how much I missed this place until today," Sabalenka, who reached the semi-finals in 2021, said on court.
She lost only five points behind her heavy first serve and crunched 20 baseline winners against her 82nd-ranked opponent.
The Minsk-born player showed some deft touches too, including a 'tweener' as she raced back to retrieve a lob.
Sabalenka will face either Italian Camila Giorgi or Varvara Gracheva of France in round two.
Persons:
Hungary's Panna Udvardy, Toby Melville LONDON, Aryna Sabalenka, Panna, Sabalenka, It's, Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Camila Giorgi, Varvara Gracheva, Martyn Herman, Ken Ferris
Organizations:
Lawn Tennis, Croquet Club, Hungary's, Wimbledon, Thomson
Locations:
London, Britain, Belarus, Belarusian, Ukraine, tennis, revelled, Minsk, France