Petra Kvitova crashed out of Wimbledon in the first round on Tuesday as the two-time champion was stunned 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 by unheralded Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Former champion Maria Sharapova also succumbed to a shock defeat, losing to world number 132 and fellow Russian Vitalia Diatchenko.
Kvitova was the bookmakers’ favourite for the women’s title at the All England Club after an impressive return to form this year.
The 28-year-old Czech had won five titles in 2018, including the grass-court tournament at Birmingham last weekend, while amassing an WTA Tour-leading 38 match victories.
But Kvitova, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, had insisted before the tournament that she wasn’t the top contender after suffering a hamstring problem that forced her to pull out of Eastbourne last week.
As for Sharapova, it was her first ever defeat in the opening round at the All England Club and it came as she made her return to the tournament after a three-year absence. She went down 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 having led by a set and 5-2.
Diatchenko, who came through qualifying, will face Sofia Kenin of the United States for a place in the last 32.
That lack of confidence was reflected in the eighth seed’s disappointing performance on Court One and world number 50 Sasnovich took full advantage.
It was another Grand Slam setback for Kvitova, who has gone out before the quarter-finals in five of her six appearances at the Majors since returning to action following the horrific stabbing that derailed her career in 2016.
The knife attack had Kvitova’s home left severe lacerations to all four fingers on her playing hand.
Sasnovich’s reward for the best result of her career is a second round clash with American Taylor Townsend.
“It was good but I can play better. Probably I deserved it today,” Sasnovich said after closing out the win with consecutive aces.
“I was just warming up when the score was 5-0 in the final set. I could have played one more match!”
Spain’s Garbine Muguruza opened her Wimbledon title defence with a 6-2, 7-5 win over British wild card Naomi Broady on Tuesday.
Muguruza is bidding to reach her third Wimbledon final after winning last year’s title match against Venus Williams and losing the 2015 showpiece against Serena Williams.
The two-time Grand Slam champion needed 88 minutes to see off world number 138 Broady on Centre Court.
“I’m back, it’s always good, I’m thinking to win and actually enjoy this time more,” Muguruza said.
“I’m pretty happy with my serve and controlling the emotions. To be back in a Grand Slam is always difficult, so I’m excited with the way I’m playing.”
Third seed Muguruza, 24, faces Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck or Slovenia’s Polona Herzog in the second round.
World number one Simona Halep started her challenge for a first Wimbledon title with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Japan’s Kurumi Nara on Tuesday.
Halep has arrived at the All England Club on a high after finally winning her maiden Grand Slam crown at the French Open last month.
The Romanian top seed has reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the last two years and, after dispatching Nara in 78 minutes on Centre Court, she will play China’s Zheng Saisai in the second round.
Eugenie Bouchard, the runner-up in 2014 before her career went into a tailspin, reached the second round with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 victory over British wild card Gabriella Taylor.
Bouchard, now ranked 188 in the world, will face fellow former Wimbledon junior champion Ashleigh Barty for a spot in the last 32.
Konta made the semi-finals last year, but the highest ranked British woman has struggled since then and had to dig deep to see off Russian world number 88 Natalia Vikhlyantseva.
Konta was a 7-5, 7-6 (9/7) winner, but the world number 24 conceded there was room for improvement.
“The conditions were tricky, it was very breezy, and there were some nerves there, but I enjoyed every second of it,” Konta said. The 22nd seed will face Dominika Cibulkova next.
Elsewhere, Angelique Kerber, a former US Open and Australian Open champion, saw off fellow former Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-3
Ex-world number two Zvonareva, one of a number of tennis mums at the tournament and now ranked 142, came through qualifying to make the main draw for the first time since 2014.
Results
1st rd
Lara Arruabarrena (ESP) bt Ana Bogdan (ROM) 6-1, 3-6, 8-6
Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE) bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS x30) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Johanna Konta (GBR x22) bt Natalia Vikhlyantseva (RUS) 7-5, 7-6 (9/7)
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) bt Alize Cornet (FRA) 7-6 (7/3), 6-1
Daria Gavrilova (AUS x26) bt Caroline Dolehide (USA) 6-2, 6-3
Samantha Stosur (AUS) bt Peng Shuai (CHN) 6-4, 7-5
Taylor Townsend (USA) bt Pauline Parmentier (FRA) 6-2, 6-4
Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) bt Petra Kvitova (CZE x8) 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP x3) bt Naomi Broady (GBR) 6-2, 7-5
Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) bt Polona Hercog (SLO) 6-2, 6-2
Jennifer Brady (USA) bt Kateryna Kozlova (UKR) 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2
Anett Kontaveit (EST x28) bt Denisa Allertová (CZE) 6-2, 6-2
Ashleigh Barty (AUS x17) bt Stefanie Vogele (SUI) 7-5, 6-3
Eugénie Bouchard (CAN) bt Gabriella Taylor (GBR) 6-0, 4-6, 6-3
Angelique Kerber (GER x11) bt Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 7-5, 6-3
Claire Liu (USA) bt Ana Konjuh (CRO) 6-2, 6-7 (2/7), 6-3
Vera Lapko (BLR) bt Christina McHale (USA) 5-7, 7-5, 7-5
With inputs from AFP
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