Aryna Sabalenka made a confident start to her bid for Wimbledon glory as she blasted her way into the second round.
Teenage qualifier Teodora Kostovic, making her main-draw debut at a Grand Slam, insisted ahead of the match that she felt no sense of trepidation.
"Let's see if she can deal with my power," Kostovic bullishly declared. "Of course I can beat her. I can beat anybody when I'm in the zone."
The telling power came from Sabalenka. She hit 22 winners to Kostovic's 10 and was never truly tested in a 6-2 6-3 victory. She will face McCartney Kessler next.
No player makes progression through the opening rounds of Grand Slams look as easy as Sabalenka. The 28-year-old has made at least the quarter-finals of every major she has played in since the 2022 French Open.
Wimbledon is the one Grand Slam that Sabalenka is yet to make the final of after three consecutive last-four exits. There is no reason why that duck cannot be broken in just under a fortnight.
For more than three and a half hours on Monday afternoon, the Centre Court crowd were locked into Jannik Sinner's unexpected five-set battle with Miomir Kecmanovic.
It meant many were still on the hunt for food and drink by the time Sabalenka strode onto court with Kostovic. They had to hurry, too, as Sabalenka needed just 15 minutes to cruise into a 4-0 lead.
Kostovic gesticulated furiously at her team as the onslaught continued and although she did get on the board, Sabalenka soon brought up a set point at 5-1.
That came and went as an attempted drop shot floated wide and Kostovic then held serve to delay the top seed.
Sabalenka's radar briefly went awry - two forehands flying long - but a second serve kicked up out wide and Kostovic could not return it to seal the set.
To her credit, Kostovic began to settle into the match. She held her first two service games in the set, even if one superb Sabalenka drop shot left her staring up at her box in bemusement.
Sabalenka then raced through the next four games, twice breaking Kostovic to move 5-2 in front and give herself the chance to serve for the win.
Kostovic dug in and brought up break points for the first time in the match and she converted the second of them with a lovely backhand winner down the line.
Almost inevitably, Sabalenka responded immediately. She crunched a backhand crosscourt to earn two match points. One final violent swing of the racket later and she was blowing kisses to the crowd.
