Sabalenka powers past Kostovic into second round

Women's top seed Aryna Sabalenka began her latest attempt ​to claim her first Wimbledon crown with ‌a routine 6-2 6-3 defeat of Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic on Monday.

Still smarting from an ​unsettling French Open exit, the world ​number one was laser-focused on Centre ⁠Court as she won the opening four ​games against the lowly ranked Kostovic.

She was ​eventually made to work and there was a minor blip when she dropped serve at 5-2 ​in the second set but it ​was only a temporary delay as she avoided ‌any ⁠possibility of the sort of collapse she suffered in Paris against Diana Shnaider.

"I'm super excited to be back," she told a ​crowd that ​included former ⁠England football captain David Beckham.

"I was happy I could close ​this match in straight sets. For ​the ⁠first match I feel pretty good, maybe eight out of 10."

Sabalenka, a losing semi-finalist ⁠on ​her last three visits ​to Wimbledon, will take on American McCartney Kessler next.