Defending champ Marketa Vondrousova falls to shock first-round defeat at Wimbledon

admin admin | 07-03 00:16

Reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova joined Steffi Graf in the history books after she lost in straight sets to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro to suffer a shock first-round exit.

Vondrousova was a surprise winner at the All England Club last year and returned to Centre Court on Tuesday to begin the defence of her crown, but struggled physically as she tasted 6-4 6-2 defeat inside 67 minutes.

It made Vondrousova only the second defending women's Wimbledon champion to crash out in the first round after Graf did in 1994 to Lori McNeil.

Prior to her 2023 success, Vondrousova had only won one main-draw match in SW19 and arrived in the capital after an injury scare in Berlin two weeks ago.

World number six Vondrousova insisted ahead of the tournament she was fully fit, but she had three double-faults in her first service game as she was broken immediately.

Further breaks were exchanged between the duo, but Spaniard Bouzas Maneiro, ranked 83rd in the world, sealed the opener inside 40 minutes.

Vondrousova sent down another double-fault at the start of the second to be broken again and appeared to be growing frustrated with her ailing health.

It failed to distract Bouzas Maneiro though who continued to play her shots and the 21-year-old secured a memorable first grand slam victory with a wonderful backhand winner, which kissed the white chalk to the delight of Centre Court.

It was a different story for Vondrousova and she raced off the court after seeing her title defence end in just over an hour.

Jessica Pegula eased into the second round

Earlier, fifth seed Jessica Pegula made light work of fellow American Ashlyn Krueger 6-2 6-0 under gloomy skies.

Pegula, a quarter-finalist last year at the All England Club, broke in the opening game of the match before racing into a 4-0 lead in 10 minutes.

The 20-year-old Krueger did get on the scoreboard, using her six feet, one inch frame to great effect in her powerful serves. However, Pegula never looked seriously troubled against her 75th ranked opponent and sealed the first set with an ace.

The youngster was broken again in quick succession in the second set, and racked up 29 unforced errors in the match.

Pegula, 30, ended Krueger's first appearance in the main draw at Wimbledon with an ace to complete a 49-minute win.

Harriet Dart produced an accomplished display to beat Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan in straight sets.

First up on Court 18, Dart had to be patient against the world number 95 and navigated an hour's rain delay before she claimed a 6-4 6-0 win.

It could set up a second-round tie with compatriot and familiar foe Katie Boulter, who is set to face Tatjana Maria later on Tuesday.

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