Maria Sakkari has shaken off her first-round jitters with a clinical 6-3, 6-1 victory over American qualifier McCartney Kessler at Wimbledon.
The Greek needed 1 hour and 11 minutes to oust World No.119 Kessler, in what was an important Grand Slam victory for Sakkari.
The No.9 seed has already won 20 matches at tour-level this year, but she had lost in the first round at four of the last five Grand Slam events.
“It felt a lot better than I expected,” she said after the match.
“Obviously, you know, I’ve been struggling a little bit in Grand Slams in the last couple of tournaments, you know, with first-round losses. So that was in my mind.
“But I feel like today I was brave and strong enough to just overcome that fear. I think it was pretty solid from a tennis standpoint.”
If Sakkari is to win her next match against Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, she will reach the third round of a Slam for the first time since the 2023 Australian Open.
Rus has reached the second round of Wimbledon for the first time since 2012 by beating Yuan Yue 6-2, 6-3.
The two have played five times in the past, with Sakkari winning all five matches, one of those a 6-1, 6-1 dismissal in the first round of 2021 Wimbledon.
