Agnieszka Radwanska made up for lost time as she recorded a quickfire 6-2, 6-1 win against the Ukrainian Kateryna Kozlova on Wednesday, needing only 63 minutes to book her place in the second round.
Radwanska, the runner-up here in 2012 and a semi-finalist in two of the past three years, was too smart and too consistent for the hard-hitting Kozlova, who was appearing in the main draw of a grand slam for the first time.
“I am trying every year to do better and better,” Radwanska, 27, said. “I was close [to winning the title] a couple of times, it’s another year to try and hopefully I can do better.”
Radwanska, the No3 seed, was critical of French Open organisers for making her play in the rain when she was beaten in the fourth round but on Wednesday she took advantage of playing under the Centre Court roof. “A one-hour match is always good, especially because the weather [means] we may play every day, so I am happy with that,” she said. “It’s like an indoor tournament sometimes. You have to get used to that, it’s a little bit different, but without the sun and wind it’s a different game and I am happy to win.”
With no wind or sun to put her off, Radwanska was able to run through her entire repertoire of strokes, from deft drop shots to angled drives and crisp net play, racing to a 3-0 lead before Kozlova had time to take in the surroundings. The 22-year-old Ukrainian, ranked No97 in the world, looked understandably nervous and though a good hold of serve in the fourth game put her on the board, Radwanska cruised to the opening set.
Kozlova continued to have her moments but never really looked like challenging and Radwanska ripped through the second set to clinch victory and set up a second-round match against either Karin Knapp of Italy or the 18-year-old Croatian Ana Konjuh.
