Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 28, 2021 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka celebrates winning her first round match against Romania's Monica Niculescu REUTERS/Toby Melville
LONDON (Reuters) - Second seed Aryna Sabalenka struck a barrage of winners to blitz past Romanian qualifier Monica Niculescu 6-1 6-4 on Monday and reach the second round of Wimbledon.
The withdrawal of Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep from the grasscourt Grand Slam, which was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meant world number four Sabalenka is at her highest seeding at a major.
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