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Ons Jabeur targeted becoming world number one after making a confident start to her Wimbledon bid, having required just 53 minutes to record a straight-sets win over Mirjam Bjorklund.
Jabeur, who became world number two on Monday – the highest ranking ever achieved by an African player on either the WTA or ATP tour – raced to a 6-1 6-3 first-round victory on No. 1 Court.
The Tunisian, who prepared for her Wimbledon campaign by winning the German Open earlier this month and playing doubles with Serena Williams at the Eastbourne International, will face Katarzyna Kawa in the second round on Wednesday.
Ranking points are not on offer at the All England Club due to Russian and Belarusian players being banned, but Jabeur is already looking further ahead, declaring after her opener that becoming the world’s top female player this year was her aim.
Asked whether she was hopeful of bettering her run to the last eight in SW19 last year, Jabeur said: “Yes, for sure, especially [after] today I achieved my highest ranking.
“It’s really amazing to be here, to come back to Wimbledon, to play on one of the greatest surfaces that I like, especially one that loves my drop shots and my slices, so I’m happy to be back and hopefully I’ll go further than the quarter-finals.
“It’s a great start for me. I want to go as far as I can this tournament and dropping four games is a start.
“In the beginning of the season, I was like number 10 or number nine, and I said, ‘I belong in this ranking and I don’t feel I deserve to be five or four’.
“Now I feel like I deserve it even more. I feel like I won matches to prove myself on this level.
“I do feel more confident. I do feel like I deserve to be on this level. Hopefully next step will be number one.”
