Aryna Sabalenka was off to the races at Wimbledon after the top seed made a winning start to her campaign with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic. The score might be slightly flattering for the Belarusian, but she did get strong resistance from her opponent, who was making her Center Court debut. But after the win, Sabalenka didn’t try to hit back at her. Instead, she was full of appreciation.

“Yeah, she brought a really good fight. She stepped in a little more in the second set”, said Sabalenka in her on-court interview. “She pushed me a bit more. I’m happy I was able to close it in straight sets. I totally get it. Playing for the first time on Centre court, it’s a lot of pressure. But I’m pretty sure she’ll deal with that much better next time.”

Sabalenka’s observations are not far off point as Kostovic had a poor first set, getting broken in her first service game. She went down a double break as well, and there was no coming back from there, as the Serb hit two winners but made ten unforced errors.

The occasion and gravity of center court can get to anyone, but Kostovic handled it a bit better in the second set. She held serve till 2-2, but got broken twice to go 2-5 down. However, she showed some fight and played aggressive tennis, which saw Sabalenka break to make it 3-5. The Belarusian’s mental struggles were well on display at Roland Garros, and getting broken while serving for the match could have brought back some unwanted memories for Sabalenka. Still, on this occasion, she held firm, breaking back immediately in the next game to close out the match.

The kind words said by Sabalenka for her 18-year-old opponent come after the Serb had made certain bold remarks ahead of the clash. Having qualified, Kostovic had expressed her desire to face Sabalenka in the first round. Once the draw pitted her against the top seed, the teenager was quite bullish about her chances.

“Let’s see if she can deal with my power,” said Kostovic after qualifying for the main draw. “Of course, I can beat her. I can beat anybody when I’m in the zone.” Now, having played her, Kostovic will be wary that Sabalenka is not short on power, and that her experience on the big stage is something the Serb did not have, leaving her overawed by the situation, especially in the first set.

On the other hand, this performance is as good as it gets for Sabalenka for a first-round match at a Slam, as her ratio of winners to unforced errors was 2:1, which is a great stat for any player. Her forehand did look shaky at times, but one can expect the Belarusian to improve on that. Her serve held up well, getting broken only once when serving for the match. Her next match will be against McCartney Kessler, who started off her campaign with a resounding 6-0, 6-0 win over Oleksandra Oliynykova in the first round. Sabalenka has played her before, winning at Indian Wells last year.

Sabalenka’s draw could be tough in the later rounds, and the top seed must keep her matches in straight sets to conserve energy. Moreover, Elena Rybakina is breathing down the Belarusian’s neck for the No.1 ranking, something that will act as extra motivation for the Belarusian at this year’s Wimbledon.