Sabalenka praying for no more upsets after battling win
Several stars suffered shock first round exits from the All England Club, including second seed Coco Gauff, third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen.
Top seed Sabalenka was pushed hard by Bouzkova in Wednesday's opening match on Centre Court as her Czech opponent matched fire with fire in a bruising encounter.
But she eventually had too much in her locker for her 48th-ranked opponent, firing an impressive 41 winners in a match lasting one hour and 35 minutes.
The Belarusian said after her win she was aware of the seeds who had crashed out but planned to focus on her own game.
'Honestly it's very sad to see so many top players losing in the first round but you better focus on yourself and stay away from the results,' she said.
'I mean of course you're going to know the overall picture but it's better to take it one step at a time and do your best every time you're out here competing and I'm trying to stay away.
'I hope it's no upsets anymore in this tournament, if you know what I mean!'
The first set went with serve until Sabalenka doubled-faulted in the 11th game to hand Bouzkova the chance to serve for the set.
But the Belarusian broke back with a searing backhand down the line and came out on top in the tie-break to establish a foothold in the match.
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