Number five seed Caroline Wozniacki recovered from a sluggish start to dispatch Saisai Zheng 7-5 6-0 in round one at Wimbledon.

Wozniacki has reached at least the quarter-finals of every grand slam with the exception of SW19, where she has fallen in the fourth round on four occasions.

The last 16 seemed a long distance away when the 24-year-old, who came into the match nursing a back problem, slipped 1-4 behind to the world number 66 in the opening set.

But she turned the tables emphatically, winning 12 of the remaining 13 games to storm home in straight sets.

Wozniacki pulled out of her scheduled Eastbourne semi-final against Belinda Bencic last week and troublesome preparations became a far-from-ideal start as Zheng broke in the opening game.

The 21-year-old showed few early signs of nerves on her Centre Court debut, producing flourishing strokeplay from both wings as a second break arrived.

Wozniacki halted her opponent's charge with a break back but Zheng produced a gutsy hold for 3-5 and found herself serving for the set.

The former world number one brought her experience to bear when it mattered, leading 0-30 after a tentative Zheng forehand before a wildly off-target volley from the Chinese player at 15-40 meant the set was back on serve.

Zheng’s first double fault of the match could scarcely have arrived at a worse time, handing Wozniacki advantage and a first set point that was gratefully accepted.

The sense that Zheng's chance had slipped away was underlined when Wozniacki broke for 2-0 at the start of the second set, while the Danish player was now operating with supreme authority behind her own serve.

An anguished Zheng called for the trainer at 0-3 due to a problem with her left wrist that led to a lengthy medical timeout.

Despite initially appearing revitalised, another break followed and Wozniacki ultimately made short work of what once looked set to be a challenging encounter.