Kim Clijsters’s first taste of Olympic action lasted little more than an hour as she saw off Italy’s Roberta Vinci to reach the second round of the women’s singles at Wimbledon.
London is both a Games debut and swansong for Belgian Clijsters, who will retire for the second time after the US Open in a month’s time.
She has struggled with injuries this season and was hampered by an abdominal strain at Wimbledon three weeks ago, where she crashed out in the fourth round to Angelique Kerber.
But she looked in very good form today, racing through the first set and then edging out Vinci in a closer second to win 6-1 6-4 and become the first singles victor of the Olympics.
In the second round Clijsters, a three-time grand slam champion, could meet fifth seed Sam Stosur of Australia, who was playing Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro yesterday.