HISTORIC UPSET: Ex-champ Vondrousova makes early exit

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Marketa Vondrousova became the first defending women’s Wimbledon champion to lose in the first round for 30 years on Tuesday as Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek cruised through.

Off the court, two-time champion Andy Murray pulled out of the singles at his farewell All England Club appearance because he has not recovered sufficiently from recent back surgery.

It was a painful day for Czech sixth seed Vondrousova, whose time in the Wimbledon spotlight was cut cruelly short in a chastening 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Spain’s unheralded Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

Vondrousova is only the second defending champion to lose in the first round at the All England Club in the Open Era.

The only other time it happened was 30 years ago, when Lori McNeil defeated three-time defending champion Steffi Graf.

World No. 83 Bouzas Maneiro, playing in only the third Grand Slam main draw of her career, broke five times in the match under the roof on Centre Court, sealing victory in 66 minutes.

Vondrousova, who said she was wary in her first match since she hurt her hip at last month’s Berlin grass-court tournament, struggled with her serve and racked up 28 unforced errors.

“Practice was fine and everything,” the 25-year-old Czech said.

“Today I was a bit scared because of my leg too. But I don’t think that was the reason. I felt nervous from the start.”

She added: “It’s tough to go out defending the title.”

There were no such problems for world number one Swiatek, who beat former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-4.

The Polish top seed, who was playing her first match since winning a fourth French Open title last month, said she was happy with her performance after switching from clay to grass.

“I feel like I’m making progress every year, and every year is a little bit faster for me, the process of adapting to the surface,” said the 23-year-old, a quarterfinalist last year.

Elena Rybakina, the 2022 champion, cantered past Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3, 6-1 while fifth seed Jessica Pegula lost just two games against US compatriot Ashlyn Krueger.

Djokovic, 37, had a knee operation after pulling out before his French Open quarter-final — sparking fears he would not be fit in time for Wimbledon, where he is chasing a record-tying eighth men’s title.

But although he wore a support on his right knee he showed no sign of discomfort in dispatching Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

The Serbian world No. 2, who was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s final, did not face a single break point during his cruise.

He knows time is not on his side as he bids to equal Roger Federer’s Wimbledon title haul and also become the first player — man or woman — to win 25 Grand Slam singles titles.

“I tried to really focus on the game and not think about the knee too much,” Djokovic said.