Reigning Wimbledon champion Serena Williams appeared a little flustered in her first-round match Tuesday, but eventually dispatched Swiss qualifier Amra Sadikovic 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the second round.
Williams, who is seeking her 22nd major title, started off slow, losing three of the first four points of the match. But Williams overpowered her opponent to win 12 straight points on her way to the first-set victory.
In the second set, Williams made several unforced errors while hitting four double-faults, and was clearly frustrated. She screamed at herself and flailed her arms in attempts to psyche herself up.
The strategy worked and Williams went on to win the second set.
“I never underestimate anyone,” Williams said on the BBC of Sadikovic.
Next up for Williams in the second round is a fellow American in 24-year-old Christina McHale, who posted a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova. Williams has fended off the 65th-ranked McHale in both matches they have played.
A few others American women were on the court Tuesday.
Alison Riske took sixth-seeded Roberta Vinci of Italy to three sets before falling 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
Coco Vandeweghe, seeded 27th, rolled to a 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine.
Great Britain’s Andy Murray, the men’s second seed who carries the hopes of a nation every year at Wimbledon, easily advanced (6-2, 6-3, 6-4) to the second round by beating fellow countryman Liam Broady.
It took Murray only 1:42 to move on to the next round. He hit eight aces and controlled the game at the net, winning 18 of 19 times.
Murray hit 31 winners; Broady only 17, while Murray had only 18 unforced errors compared to Broady’s 22.
The day after British qualifier Marcus Willis, the world number 772, made the front and back pages by reaching the second round, 235th-ranked Broady was given the Centre Court spotlight but played a subservient role as Murray gave a masterclass.
Murray, the 2013 champion, had not faced a fellow Britain in 56 previous Wimbledon matches while two home players had not squared off at the All England Club for 15 years.
The 29-year-old admitted beforehand that it had felt “weird” but it was business as usual once play began as he broke twice to pocket the opening set in 25 minutes.
Broady, still sporting the beard that caused a stir when he won a round last year, contributed to some eye-catching rallies but landed few telling blows as Murray raced away.
Murray did not have things all his own way in the third set but as dark clouds closed in, he was clearly keen to finish the match off and he did so with a cute dropshot.
“I hit the ball pretty clean today. I think offensively I was good. Felt like I could have moved a little bit better. I didn’t defend as well as usual,” Murray, who has never lost to a player ranked lower than Broady, told reporters.
Fourth-seeded Stan Wawrinka was pushed by American Taylor Fritz, an 18-year-old making his Wimbledon debut.
Wawrinka, of Switzerland, prevailed 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-4 to advance to the second round.
“You know, after losing two sets to one of those top guys, it’s very easy to kind of just fold and say, ‘It’s over, let them win it and kind of go away,’” Fritz said afterward. “I really wanted to keep fighting and pushing him.”
Seventh-seeded Richard Gasquet of France advanced with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Britain’s Aljaz Bedene.
American Dennis Novikov advanced with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win over Australia’s Luke Saville, and 22nd-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain defeated American Rajeev Ram 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4.