The 30-year-old American, seeded ninth, lifted her maiden Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open 12 months ago.
Contesting the 50th Grand Slam match of her career, Keys admitted to feeling uneasy beforehand, having struggled to find sufficient video footage of her opponent to prepare effectively.
Those nerves were evident early on. Keys made a shaky start, losing the first four games of the opening set and serving three double faults in her first service game.
Oliynykova, ranked 92nd in the world and making her Grand Slam debut, settled more quickly, with her defensive style initially frustrating Keys’ aggressive, big-hitting approach.
However, the defending champion gradually found her rhythm. Keys recovered from a 4-0 deficit, forced a tie-break and then showed her experience under pressure by rallying from 5-2 down to claim the set 7-6 (8-6).
Once ahead, Keys asserted full control. She dominated the second set, which lasted just 28 minutes, breaking down Oliynykova’s resistance to seal a 6-1 win and complete a 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 victory.
The win sets up a second-round meeting with fellow American Ashlyn Krueger.
“I’ve been thinking about this moment for basically a year,” said Keys.
“The moment they say, ‘Ready, play’, it all hits you in a way that I don’t think you can ever really explain.
“As nerve-racking and stressful as that can be, I’m still reminding myself of just how few people get to be in that moment.
“Being able to walk out today and have the crowd be as welcoming as they were, I’ll take the stress any day.”
