World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said she was sad to see many top seeds crash out in the first-round at Wimbledon after she secured a hard-fought 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 win over Marie Bouzkova on Wednesday. 

Several stars suffered shock first round exits here, including second seed Coco Gauff, third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen. 

Sabalenka was pushed hard by Bouzkova in Wednesday’s opening match as her Czech opponent matched fire with fire in a bruising encounter. But she eventually had too much in her locker for her 48th-ranked opponent, firing an impressive 41 winners to progress to the third-round.