US Open champion Sloane Stephens crashed out in the first round of Wimbledon after a straight-sets defeat to Donna Vekic.
Stephens, who was also the runner-up at the French Open last month, was downed 6-1 6-3 by the unseeded Croatian.
It was a tough draw for the fourth seed as Vekic is a threat on grass but
Stephens put in an erratic display.
The No.4 seed falls…
Donna Vekic defeats Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-3 to book her place in the second round#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/WX24Bhud57
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2018
“I am very happy to win today, it was a tough match,” Vekic said. “I am
really happy.
“I tried to go out there and be aggressive, I was struggling with my serve, it
was windy, so I am happy to get through.
“I played all the tournaments on grass, I really enjoy playing on it and it
helped me.”
.@DonnaVekic ends Stephens’ hopes of becoming World No.1 in the @Wimbledon first round–> https://t.co/IBGirSIZmY pic.twitter.com/c2EstAvaIC
— WTA (@WTA) July 2, 2018
Caroline Wozniacki safely navigated her way past Varvara Lepchenko.
The Danish number two seed was second on Centre Court, just 48 hours after
winning the Nature Valley International in Eastbourne.
She had little trouble getting past the American, winning 6-0 6-3.
Williams came back from a set down to win 6-7 (3/7) 6-2 6-1.
Karolina Pliskova also had a battle on her hands to get past British hopeful Harriet Dart.
Through in under an hour…@CaroWozniacki eases into the second round at #Wimbledon after beating Varvara Lepchenko 6-0, 6-3 pic.twitter.com/AMgWoKDwjP
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2018
The Czech, who will be eyeing her maiden grand slam success at SW19, needed three sets, triumphing 7-6 (7/2) 2-6 6-1.
She said: “It was not the best, but I won. The end was happy.
“I think she played very good. I know she beat my sister last week in Eastbourne, so I was ready for a tough battle.
.@KaPliskova sees off a spirited Dart to reach @Wimbledon second round–> https://t.co/q12tM1OvhR pic.twitter.com/isvFmZ5rQ1
— WTA (@WTA) July 2, 2018
“But my game was not the best. I managed to find a little bit of my rhythm in the third set. That was much better.
“Maybe if I play a little bit better in the beginning, it could be a little bit different.”
Magdalena Rybarikova became the first seed to lose as she was
beaten 7-5 6-3 by Sorana Cirstea while 22nd seed Anastasija Sevastova was ousted 6-1 2-6 6-4 by Camila Giorgi.
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka came through in straight sets against Ekaterina Alexandrova while 2015 quarter-finalist Madison Keys eased past Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 6-2 in 63 minutes.
