Sabalenka powers past Branstine in Wimbledon opener as Jabeur retires
With the thermometer soaring above 30 degrees Celsius, the Belarusian turned up the heat early to win the opening five games.
But Branstine, who juggles her time between the tennis courts and working as a model, earned loud applause when she got on the scoreboard and although Sabalenka eased to the first set, the second was an intense duel of fierce baseline rallies.
Sabalenka, seeded one at Wimbledon for the first time, usually overpowers her opponents with the sheer force of her game, but Branstine had firepower of her own.
The Canadian powered down several big aces as she stayed ahead in the second set but Sabalenka sensed her chance at 5-5 and broke serve by forcing her opponent to net a forehand.
Sabalenka wrapped up the win with a solid hold.
Elsewhere, twice Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur's tournament lasted only one hour and 25 minutes as the Tunisian retired in her first-round match against Viktoriya Tomova.
Bulgarian Tomova took a tight opening set on a tiebreak and was 2-0 ahead in the second when Jabeur, who reached the final in 2022 and 2023, decided she could not continue.
The 30-year-old former world number two had looked uncomfortable in fiercely hot conditions on Court 14 and needed a long medical timeout in the first set.
Jabeur, who has slipped outside the world's top 50, suffers from asthma and experienced breathing difficulties at this year's Australian Open.
"I wasn't expecting not to feel good," Jabeur said. "I have been practising pretty well the last few days but I guess these things happen.
"I'm pretty sad, it really doesn't really help with my confidence and what I keep pushing myself to do even though it was a very tough season for me. I hope I can feel better and see what is going to happen."
Meanwhile, the biggest British assault on Wimbledon for 41 years got off to a great start when Sonay Kartal upset 20th seed and former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-5 2-6 6-2.
Although Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu are making most of the headlines, there are 23 Britons in the men's and women's singles this week, the most at Wimbledon since 1984.
On the men's side, British qualifier Oliver Tarvet enjoyed a dream Wimbledon debut with a 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory over Switzerland's Leandro Riedi and things could get even better for the 21-year-old with a likely Centre Court clash against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz next.
Tarvet, who came through three rounds of qualifying, thrilled a packed crown around Court Four with a majestic display to outclass fellow-qualifier Riedi.
Second-round losers are guaranteed 99,000 pounds (AED 498,000) in prize money, but because Tarvet is still a student at the University of San Diego he will miss out on a potentially career-changing windfall.
Because of his amateur status, the world number 719 will be entitled to only $10,000 plus any expenses he incurs.
Although that will hurt in the short term, such was the quality of Tarvet's game that he looked destined for a rapid rise in the rankings and he will likely turn professional after his final year of study in California.
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