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Defending champion Vondrousova falls at first hurdle

football02 July 2024 14:00| © Reuters
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Defending champion Marketa Vondrousova was knocked out in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday, the first female holder to fall at the opening hurdle since Steffi Graf 30 years ago.

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Czech Vondrousova, who became the first unseeded woman to lift the title last year, earned a far less welcome accolade after a 6-4 6-2 defeat by Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

Ranked world number 83, Bouzas Maneiro had won only one tour-level match all year heading into Wimbledon, but secured her first win across all Grand Slams when she slapped a backhand down the line.

The Spaniard hit the ball cleanly throughout an unremarkable Centre Court clash, but only really needed to keep it in play as errors flew from the champion's racket with alarming regularity.

Struggling with a hip injury which derailed her preparation, sixth-seeded Vondrousova now heads for the exit while Bouzas Maneiro will next face compatriot Cristina Bucsa or Romanian Ana Bogdan in the second round.

RYBAKINA EASES INTO SECOND ROUND

Former champion Elena Rybakina swept aside Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse at Wimbledon 6-3 6-1, her power and movement proving too much for the Romanian qualifier.

Rybakina, who won the championship in 2022, lost her first game of the match as she sought to find her big-serving rhythm.

The fourth seed, from Kazakhstan, has had illness and fitness problems recently but looked more comfortable as the match progressed and clinched the first set with a thumping serve that Ruse could only put wide.

Ruse, who qualified last week without dropping a set, was already faltering under the barrage of heavy groundstrokes when she slipped and needed treatment in the second set.

She resumed, but Rybakina, who leads the women's tour stats for aces this year with 270, wrapped up the match in an hour and 11 minutes on her second match point.

"Really happy to win my first match here this year. I didn’t play on grass too much this year because I’ve had some issues," Rybakina said in an interview on court.

"I’m just keeping all the emotions inside, sometimes it’s not easy but I’m looking forward to the next one. I just want to be happy on the court, that’s my goal now."

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