Defending champion Marketa Vondrousova says goodbye in the first round of the Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon.
The Czech suffered a surprise defeat to Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Tuesday with 4:6, 2:6. As the last defending champion before that, Steffi Graf had already been eliminated at the start 30 years ago.
Vondrousova won the traditional grass court tournament last year as an unseeded player. This year, her preparation was hampered by a hip injury and she had to give up in Berlin.
(Text continues below)
Bouzas Maneiro, ranked 83rd in the world, was able to keep the ball in play against her error-prone opponent. The 21-year-old won her first ever Grand Slam event.
Winner of 2022 continues without problems
With Vondrousova’s elimination, Wimbledon is over for another favorite. Before that, Belarusian Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka had to give up her hopes of winning the title. She canceled her participation at short notice due to a shoulder injury.
In contrast, Elena Rybakina, one of the title favorites, did not let herself be fooled. The Kazakh, who won the grass classic in 2022, clearly beat Romanian Elena Gabriela Ruse 6:3, 6:1.
What do you think of this article?
2024-07-02 14:47:48
#Defending #champion #Vondrousova #fails
