Jessica Bouzas Maneiro has taken down a champion…
The 21-year-old Spanish professional tennis player, currently ranked No. 83 in the world, defeated Wimbledon defending champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-4, 6-2 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Tuesday.
In the process, Vondrousova became the first defending women’s champion at Wimbledon to lose in the first round the next year since 1994.
Vondrousova was a surprise title winner at the All England Club 12 months ago, the first unseeded woman to claim the trophy at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.
Now she enters the books in another — and less desirable — historic way. The only other time
2019 in the sport’s Open era, which dates to 1968, that a woman went from a championship at Wimbledon to an immediate exit a year later was when Steffi Graf was defeated by Lori McNeil 30 years ago.
Vondrousova was seeded No. 6 this time, but the left-hander, who also was the runner-up at the French Open and a silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Games three years ago, was never at her best Tuesday. She appeared to still be suffering after-effects from a fall during a tune-up tournament on grass in Berlin last month that hurt her hip.
Bouzas Maneiro, meantime, has reached the second round at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career.
In March, Bouzas Maneiro won her maiden WTA 125 title at the Antalya Challenger. The following month, she reached the final of the Zaragoza Open, but lost to Moyuka Uchijima.
Tabilo, ranked No 19, will next face American Taylor Fritz, the No 13 seed.
In the first round of The Championships, Cobolli, ranked No 48, edged out Australian Rinky Hijikata (7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4).