Two Grand Slam winners with contrasting experiences at Wimbledon beat both the rain and a pair of talented young players at the All-England on Tuesday. 

2018 Wimbledon winner and No.25 seed Angelique Kerber opened her tournament with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Serbian No.1 Nina Stojanovic under the roof on No.1 Court, coming from a break down in the first set to beat the World No.86 in 84 minutes.

Both players were among the few who had deep runs on grass in the two-week period between the French Open and Wimbledon.

Stojanovic, a semifinalist in Nottingham where she lost to eventual champion Johanna Konta, started the quicker of the two players as she built a 3-0 lead in the first set, but five straight games helped Kerber turn the opening set around.

In all, Kerber won seven of eight games from the only deficit she faced in the match: Stojanovic nonetheless battled to keep it close on the scoreboard, saving break points in both the third and fifth games of the second set, while also saving three match points in the final game. 

"I didn't know what to expect, actually. I just knew a few things, but she started really well, especially the first few games," Kerber said. 

"She's really playing really hard and fast, especially the first and second serve. I was trying to staying in the match, focusing on my chances. The last few games, especially the last few points, I was a little bit nervous.

"She plays well, so she was going for it. I just tried to take the match in my hand and going forward. I think it was a solid first round and first match. It's great to be through."

Fresh off a run to her 13th career WTA singles title, and first in three years on home soil in Bad Homburg last week, Kerber is riding high on confidence - and following Serena Williams' first-round exit due to injury, the German is the lone major-winner left in her quarter of the draw. 

"I'm feeling really good. Especially with the win on my belt last week coming here to Wimbledon, that gives me for sure a lot of confidence," Kerber said.

"And also playing on grass again, which I love to play. It fits my game. Always when you're working hard, one day it pays off. I was feeling it last week. Now I just try to continue this and looking forward to playing every single match, match by match, and playing better and better.

"Always when I'm coming back, I have the pictures in my mind, the memories. And always when somebody is asking me which one was your special moment or this one which you will always remember, it's for sure the final on the Centre Court here against Serena.

"I'm not really looking back when I start the tournament how I played a few years ago. It's just more the feeling that I won the tournament, I played amazing matches here, and now it's like a new tournament with new opponents and you have to be ready for every single round."

Jimmie48/WTA

While Kerber improved her all-time Wimbledon record to 32-11, reigning French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova is now 1-0 in the main draw.

Having previously lost in Wimbledon qualifying three times and playing her first match since becoming a major-winner in Paris, the No.14 seed needed just 70 minutes to ease past talented teenager Clara Tauson, 6-3, 6-2. 

"About this tournament and playing for the first time, not really having experience, switching fast from clay to grass, all of this is new, all of this is different," Krejcikova told reporters in her pre-tournament press conference.

"I grew up on clay, so I like to play on clay. I didn't really have that many matches playing on grass. I've never played here the main draw. Everything is new.

"But I just try to have fun. I just try to enjoy it. I just try to improve. I just feel that so far I really don't know what to do on grass yet. I just feel that I don't really know how to use my shot. I still have some time to find out."

As it turned out, Krejcikova used her whole arsenal to great effect against the talented 18-year-old from Denmark: hitting 20 winners and 14 unforced errors, the Czech never lost serve and saved all five break points she faced. 

Up next, Krejcikova faces a stern test in former Top 10 player Andrea Petkovic, after the German scored her first win at a Grand Slam since the 2019 US Open over Jasmine Paolini of Italy, 6-4, 6-3.

Having previously faced each other in doubles three years ago, the former World No.9 lauded Krejcikova's Parisian breakthrough in previewing their first-ever singles encounter.

"I was happy with how I played today... I was playing well, serving well. All in all, I'm happy and looking forward to my next match," Petkovic said. "I'm excited to play a Grand Slam champion and the most recent one at that. That's very exciting for me.

"Now that I'm over 30, watching somebody playing both disciplines [singles and doubles], or even three disciplines, is outrageous to me, and even winning both over the course of two weeks is even more outrageous. But I think once you practice with somebody or play with them, it doesn't surprise me as much.

"Of course, it is a huge surprise that Krejcikova won the French Open, but just once you've played with her, you feel her level of tennis and what she's capable of. In that regard, the quality of her tennis, it does not surprise me that it brought her a Grand Slam title. I'm just very happy for her. It's a great story for tennis and it's a great story for her."