Eleven years ago, a 17-year-old Maria Sharapova played bold first-strike tennis shocking reigning champion Serena Williams in the final to capture her only Wimbledon title.

Returning to SW19 with a bang today, the fourth-seeded Russian rolled British wild card Johanna Konta, 6-2, 6-2, to surge into the Wimbledon second round for the 13th straight year.

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The 2011 Wimbledon finalist said playing stress-free tennis and reacting quickly to the bad hops that sometimes spring up on grass is key to an extended run.

"Not putting so much expectations on myself [is key]," Sharapova told ESPN's Mary Joe Fernandez after her round-one win. "Because I had really good results earlier in my career [on grass], you come on court and expect it. The game is an evolution. The grass is an evolution. Eleven years ago the grass played much different than it does today. So you have to evolve mentally and physically in many different areas to win all those seven matches."

The two-time Roland Garros champion lost to Lucie Safarova in the French Open fourth round and said lingering illness prevented her from playing a grass-court warm-up tournament.

"Actually, I had hoped I would be able to play a warm-up event after losing early at the French and having the extra week," Sharapova told Fernandez. "Unfortunately, I just didn't get better as fast as I would have liked. I had to come back home to the States and get some tests done and make sure I was all okay. I got to London early and had a really good two weeks of preparation."

The woman who owns the career Grand Slam called Serena's pursuit of a calendar-year Grand Slam "pretty incredible."

"To be able to be at that level and to do it so consistently and to rise to the occasion and the challenge no matter who is across the net has been great to see from her," Sharapova said of Williams.  



Photo credit: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP