Wimbledon 2023 : Swiatek Wins Opener, Pegula Advances

Top seed Iga Swiatek laid down a marker on day one at Wimbledon with a dominant performance over China’s Zhu Lin.

Swiatek won 6-1 6-3 against the world number 34, who was one of the highest-ranked players she could have faced.

Poland’s Swiatek, 22, is considered one of the favourites for the women’s title but has never managed to go beyond the fourth round on the grass in SW19.

However, the French Open and US Open champion began her quest to add another major on another surface in style.

Swiatek is joined in the second round by fourth seed Jessica Pegula, who beat fellow American Lauren Davis 6-2 6-7 (8-10) 6-3.

Belarusian 19th seed Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Grand Slam champion and former Wimbledon semi-finalist, also progressed with a 6-4 5-7 6-4 win over China’s Yue Yuan.

But one seed has already fallen on the opening day of the Championships.

Russian Liudmila Samsonova, seeded 15th, was beaten 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-4) by Romania’s Ana Bogdan.