Second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus won the first match at Wimbledon in two years on Monday, seeing off Romanian qualifier Monica Niculescu in straight sets.

Sabalenka won 6-1, 6-4 under the roof of Court One and will face either Danielle Lao of the United States or Britain’s Katie Boulter for a place in the last 32.

Last year’s Wimbledon was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic while play at this year’s event was delayed by rain on the outside courts.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic overcame an early scare before getting his bid for a sixth Wimbledon and record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title off to a winning start on Monday while rain brought havoc to the schedule, one year after the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Defending champion and world number one Djokovic, looking to become just the third man in history to complete a calendar Grand Slam, claimed a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win over Britain’s 253rd-ranked Jack Draper.

However, the 34-year-old Serb struggled on the slippery Centre Court surface with the roof closed above it due to the rain.

Left-handed Jack Draper, playing just his fifth match on the main tour, saved seven of seven break points in the opener to stun the top seed.

But Djokovic soon snuffed out any danger of him becoming only the third defending champion to lose in the first round, by sweeping through the remainder of the tie.

He finished with an impressive 25 aces and 47 winners as his 19-year-old opponent, who grew up just six miles (9.5km) from the All England Club, wilted.