Wimbledon 2019 today: World number one Ashleigh Barty and defending champion Angelique Kerber ease into second round

Focus: Top seed Ashleigh Barty is safely through to the second round after beating Saisai Zheng.
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Joe Krishnan2 July 2019

World number one Ashleigh Barty kicked off her Wimbledon tournament with a routine victory over Saisai Zheng to reach the second round.

The 23-year-old needed just 75 minutes to breeze past her Chinese opponent to win 6-4, 6-2 on No 1 Court.

Barty, who climbed to the top of the WTA rankings after winning her first Grand Slam at the French Open, will face Alison van Uytvanck in the next round.

"The first round is always very tough," Barty told BBC Sport after the victory.

"I think it took a bit of time for me to get used to the beautiful court and under the new roof, so it took some time to adjust.

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"It feels incredible [to be world number one] and it's a bit of bizarre feeling. I just try to go about my business and enjoy every second. It's beautiful here, so you have to enjoy every minute."

Meanwhile, defending champion Angelique Kerber secured her passage into round two with a straight sets win over fellow German Tatjana Maria.

The fifth seed endured a tough opening set but secured the vital break before sealing the first set 6-4 with a stunning lob on the stretch.

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Things were more straightforward in the second set as she snared an early break and never looked back, sending Maria out in one hour and 21 minutes of play on Centre Court, with the Duchess of Cambridge watching on from the Royal Box.

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