Aryna
Sabalenka defeated Panna Udvardy in the first round of the 2023
Wimbledon with
a score of 6-3, 6-1.
The Belarusian player entered the tournament as one of the
favorites to win the third Grand Slam of the year. As the world No. 2 and
second seed, Sabalenka showed that despite limited preparation on grass, she
has the level to compete until the later stages.
Just two
weeks ago, she played in the WTA 500 Grass Court Championships Berlin, where
she suffered a disappointing loss to Veronika Kudermetova in the second round.
This was her only grass-court tournament prior to Wimbledon.
Facing her
was the world No. 82, Panna Udvardy, who only played the qualifying rounds of
the Eastbourne Open to prepare on grass courts. Sabalenka dominated the match,
conceding only four games to secure her first victory at the 2023 Wimbledon.
The
Belarusian player hit 8 aces and won 81% of the points played with her first
serve. She also took advantage of Udvardy's difficulties with her serve, as the
Hungarian won just 50% of the points with her first serve and 38% with her
second serve. These factors contributed to Sabalenka wrapping up the match in
just one hour and three minutes.
World No. 2
recorded 29 winners and had 19 unforced errors, compared to Udvardy's 4 winners
and 13 unforced errors. In the return game, Sabalenka capitalized on four out
of seven break points, winning 50% of the first return points and 62% of the
second return points.
Sabalenka
will face the winner between Camila Giorgi and Varvara Gracheva in the second
round of Wimbledon. She is determined to win her second Grand Slam title and
reach the world No. 1 ranking. The Belarusian's best result at Wimbledon so far
is reaching the semifinals in 2021, where she lost to Karolina Pliskova after
winning the first set, but the Czech turned the match around and eliminated
Sabalenka at the All England Club.