Reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova joined Steffi Graf in the history books after she suffered a shock first-round exit, but Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina cruised into the last 64. Vondrousova was a surprise winner at the All England Club last year and returned to Centre Court on Tuesday to begin the defence of her crown, but she struggled physically in a 6-4 6-2 defeat to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in 67 minutes It made Vondrousova only the second defending women’s Wimbledon champion to crash out in the first round after Graf did in 1994 to Lori McNeil. Prior to her 2023 success, Vondrousova had only won one main-draw match in SW19 and arrived in the capital after an injury scare in Berlin two weeks ago.
World number six Vondrousova insisted she was fully fit, but had three double-faults in her first service game as she was broken immediately. Further breaks were exchanged, but Spaniard Bouzas Maneiro, ranked 83rd in the world, sealed the opener inside 40 minutes. Vondrousova sent down another double-fault at the start of the second to be broken again and appeared to be growing frustrated with her ailing health.
Bouzas Maneiro said: “This is one of the most important moments of my life, in my career here on this court, this is amazing. “The atmosphere here, the tournament is the most beautiful tournament I ever played in my life. So, thank you so much to everyone who came here to watch.
” It was a different story for Vondrousova, who was disconsolate after he.
