Reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova suffered a shock first round defeat after being stunned by Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Centre Court.
In one of the biggest Wimbledon upsets in recent history, the Czech No. 6, who won her first Grand Slam at SW19 last year, was knocked out 6-4, 6-2 by Maneiro, a player ranked No. 83 in the world who had never won a match on grass.
That means Vondrousova becomes the first reigning champion in 30 years to lose in the first round of Wimbledon.
No player has defeated a reigning female champion in the opening round of Wimbledon since Lori McNeil defeated three-time reigning champion Stefanie Graf in 1994. In 2003, Lleyton Hewitt also fell in the first round after triumphing the previous year, in the most recent of three times in history that this has happened in the men’s and women’s game.
The seismic upset marked the biggest win of the 21-year-old Maneiro’s career. The Spaniard had never beaten a top 40 player before her meeting with Vondrousova, and had only faced a top 10 player once before when she lost to Jelena Ostapenko on home soil in Madrid in April.
The Czech woman appeared to be limited in her freedom of movement on the field and was apparently struggling with a hip problem.
“Now I’m really happy,” Maneiro said after the match. “This is one of the most important moments of my life, of my career here on this pitch, this is amazing.
“The atmosphere here, the tournament is the best tournament I’ve ever played in my life, so a big thank you to everyone who came here today to watch.”
She added: “I just thought about enjoying the moment and trying to play Marketa. She is one of the best players in the world. She won here last year. I had no pressure, enjoyed the moment, enjoyed the tournament and just tried to play freely and it worked.”
More to follow…
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