Wimbledon 2021: Top seed Ashleigh Barty storms into round 3, Elina Svitolina crashes out

World number one Ash Barty moved into the third round at Wimbledon but not without a battle as she overcame spirited Russian Anna Blinkova and her own inconsistency in a 6-4 6-3 win on Thursday.

The top seed never looked in danger against the 89th-ranked Blinkova, but it was still not plain sailing for the Australian scrapper.

Her serve, so often a dependable weapon, was at times wayward, as she hit nine double faults and was broken three times, while her 33 unforced errors suggests she has some way to go to get fully sharp on the grass.

Barty, whose sole Grand Slam title came at the 2019 French Open, has never gone beyond the last 16 at Wimbledon.

She ultimately had too much firepower for Blinkova, however, and wrapped up victory after an hour and 30 minutes when her opponent swiped a forehand long.

SVITOLINA JOINS EXODUS OF WOMEN’S SEEDS

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina admitted she was struggling mentally with the demands of trying to win her first Grand Slam title as she joined the exodus of top seeds at Wimbledon on Thursday.

The world number five, seeded three, was beaten 6-3 6-4 in the second round by Poland’s Magda Linette, meaning that six of the top 10 seeds have already departed in the women’s draw.

Sofia Kenin (4) and Bianca Andreescu (5) were knocked out on Wednesday, while sixth seed Serena Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, had to retire from her first round match after slipping and injuring her leg on Tuesday.

Ninth seed Belinda Bencic and 10th seed Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, lost in round one.