Simona Halep, the newest member of the grand slam champions’ club, silenced a roaring Japanese army of supporters as she demolished Kurumi Nara 6-2 6-4 to reach the second round of Wimbledon.
Playing with a lighter load on her shoulders after winning the French Open title last month, Halep rolled back her arms and let the winners fly off her racket strings on Tuesday.
The Romanian world No.1 was broken once in the opening set and also faced two break points at 2-1 up in the second.
A forehand winner and a Nara error allowed Halep to sidestep that pothole and she wrapped up victory when Nara smacked a forehand long.
She will next face China’s Zheng Saisai for a place in the third round.
“I was relaxed when I came here. I didn’t push myself. I didn’t put pressure on myself. I felt ready today,” Halep said with a smile after winning her first match as a major champion.
“I have expectations for myself, but not with the result. I feel ready to fight.”
Meanwhile, twice former champion Petra Kvitova blamed increasing grand slam nerves after she slumped out of Wimbledon in the first round on Tuesday, beaten by inspired world No.50 Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-4 4-6 6-0.
Eighth seed Kvitova, who withdrew from the Eastbourne tournament last week with a hamstring injury, appeared to be moving well but looked pale and drawn particularly in the first set.
“I just didn’t feel well obviously. Was a first round. The nerves were there again. I don’t know,’ the Czech said.
“I just tried to kind of fight with myself. Probably was the biggest opponent which I have.”