Serena Williams insisted she feels no pressure at Wimbledon, despite being one of the pre-tournament favourites, after the sixth seed eased to a 6-1 6-4 victory over Melinda Czink in the second round.
The four-time champion raced to the first set in an emphatic 19 minutes, hitting seven aces and 13 winners, and despite a measured improvement from her Hungarian opponent, Williams sealed victory to set up a third-round meeting with China’s Jie Zheg.
“I feel no pressure,” said the former world No1. “I think the only pressure is the pressure you put on yourself, and I’m not putting any pressure on myself. I play really good when I’m relaxed, so I just got to get there.
“I feel really though good physically, but I always want to be so perfect that sometimes I want to do too much. That’s something I’m still working on.”
Earlier in the week, Gilles Simon sparked controversy when he called for the end of equal prize money at Grand Slams.
But Williams hit back at the 27-year-old, making a reference to Maria Sharapova, who had earlier claimed that more people would pay to watch her play than the men’s world No13.
“Definitely a lot more people are watching Maria than Simon. She’s way hotter than he is. Women’s tennis is really awesome,” added Williams.
“It’s a great fight. We fought for years with Billie Jean King, and Venus as well, really set the pattern on what we should do.
“I started playing tennis at two years old. I’m sure he started when he was two years old, as well. I worked just as hard as he did. I’m sure he continues to work as hard as I work.
“With that being said, everybody is entitled to their opinion. If that’s his opinion, he’s allowed to have one.”