Women’s champion knocked out in first round

MANILA, Philippines — 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 number 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,” said the 25-year-old Czech. “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.”

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

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, 6-2, 6-0.

Djokovic, 37, had a knee operation after pulling out before his French Open quarterfinal – sparking fears he would not be fit in time for Wimbledon, where he is chasing a record-equalling 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.

A fuming Andrey Rublev, a quarterfinalist last year, exited in four sets against Argentina’s Francisco Comesana, playing his first Grand Slam match.

The Russian sixth seed repeatedly smashed his racquet against his knee in the third set as his frustration mounted but he failed to turn things around and lost, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5).