A lack of warm-up matches and little knowledge of their opponent would trouble many players – but those players are not Maria Sharapova, a former champion, assured superstar and, after 12 appearances at the All England Club, an astute observer of what’s required to claim a first-round victory.
The experience showed as the fourth seed claimed a 6-2, 6-2 win over Johanna Konta, the Russian pleased with a straightforward progression after struggling with illness throughout the recent French Open.
“It was my first competitive match in about four weeks, so I just wanted to start off really strong, not knowing much about my opponent, just the results she had last week,” Sharapova said. “So coming in without any proper grass court matches, I just wanted to take care of business, and I thought I did a good job of that today.”
Certainly efficiency was a theme in the one hour, 22-minute victory, Sharapova’s only real blip occurring as she dropped serve in the first game of the second set. With an immediate break back and a 3-1 advantage gained sooner afterwards, her overall effectiveness was measured by the 23 winners compared to 10 from Konta – an opponent, Sharapova acknowledged, who was far more dangerous than her world No.126 ranking suggested, especially given her quarter-final runs in Nottingham and Eastbourne.
“Actually she was a solid opponent. I really had to work for my points,” said Sharapova, who had to stave off break points in her opening two service games. “I thought she could serve really well. Probably one of the reasons she did well last week, she serves quite low on grass. A big advantage.”
Aware of the added pressure created by a local opponent, Sharapova was also wary of managing her own emotions in the potentially dangerous encounter. “I try to make things not complicated, try to focus on one, two, three things that will help me get back on track if things aren't working well or I feel my concentration is a little off, which can happen, in a situation like the first round at Wimbledon,” she explained.
Most pleasing for Sharapova was a return to full health after the illness that contributed to a fourth-round loss in Paris. “I've had a really good last couple of weeks now of practice. Of course, in the match situation like that it's always different, especially when you haven't competed in a few weeks. That's absolutely normal. But I felt quite well,” she said.
Having set up a second-round encounter with qualifier Richel Hogenkamp, a bigger picture is perhaps starting to take shape for the 28-year-old, who has added four Grand Slam titles since her 2004 Wimbledon victory and regularly features at the business end of major events.
After a good start to @Wimbledon, finishing off the day with a good run in the park #Wimbledon2015 pic.twitter.com/LHj6n6p1ku
— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) June 29, 2015With her most recent Grand Slam final appearance occurring at the Australian Open, Sharapova is delighted with the prospect of a similarly long stay at Wimbledon, an event she says is like no other.
“It's so special,” Sharapova said of competing at the All England Club. “Even if I hadn't won this event, I think for any tennis player growing up, this is a dream come true to be out on Centre Court.
“No matter how much you try to focus and just be in the zone, in the moment, try to block everything away, it's that uniqueness, and the aura around it, it's incredible.”