Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova both lose in round 1 at Wimbledon

By Daily Sports on July 4, 2018

These are not the sorts of matches Maria Sharapova is supposed to lose, letting lead after lead slip away Tuesday against a qualifier ranked 132nd — and in the first round of Wimbledon, no less.

Then again, at this edition of The Championships, as they prefer to call the event around here, the initial 48 hours have provided more surprising exits than anyone’s accustomed to: Seven top-10 men’s and women’s seeds departed in the opening round, more than in any previous year in the professional era’s half-century.

That includes two-time champion and No. 8 seed Petra Kvitova, who was sent home by Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 a few hours before 2004 titlist Sharapova folded against Vitalia Diatchenko in a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-4 loss she seemingly controlled time and again before dropping the last three games.

“Sometimes,” Sharapova said, “you put yourself in a better or winning position, and you don’t finish.”

A 15-month doping ban kept her out of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament in 2016, and an injury sidelined her a year ago. It looked as if it would be a pleasant, straightforward return when she went ahead by a set and a break at 5-2.

Sharapova then served for the match at 5-3, but faltered. After being pushed to a third set, Sharapova went up a break at 2-1. That edge disappeared right away. She went up another break at 4-3. That advantage, too, was given right back. Sharapova’s collapse eventually ended, perhaps fittingly, with her 11th double-fault.

How unlikely was this result?

Since losing the first two Grand Slam matches of her career as a teenager, Sharapova was 49-1 in openers at majors, 13-0 at Wimbledon.

She’s a former No. 1, now seeded 24th, who owns five Grand Slam titles.

And Diatchenko? Repeatedly sidetracked by injuries of one sort or another — “I think I will write a book after I finish playing,” Diatchenko joked about her health history — the 27-year-old Russian came into the day 0-2 at Wimbledon and 8-25 overall in main-draw matches at all tour-level events.

“Everybody,” Diatchenko said, “expects me to lose the match.”

Kvitova made a far more stunning first-round exit. The eighth-seeded Kvitova entered the tournament as one of the favorites despite having withdrawn ahead of the third round at Eastbourne last week with a right hamstring complaint.

“The nerves were there again,” Kvitova said. “I just tried to kind of fight with myself.”

After losing just one set on her way to the Wimbledon title a year ago, Garbine Muguruza picked up exactly where she left off, beating British wild card Naomi Broady 6-2, 7-5 on Tuesday.

The top-seeded Simona Halep, playing her first match since winning the French Open, recorded a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 win over Japan’s Kurumi Nara.

There were also surprise defeats on the men’s side of the draw as both David Goffin and Dominic Thiem lost.

The 51st-ranked Matthew Ebden upset 10th-seeded Goffin of Belgium 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, before seventh-seeded Thiem retired hurt with his opponent, Marcos Baghdatis, leading 6-4, 7-5, 2-0. American Jack Sock, seeded 18th, was up by two sets but still lost 6-7 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 to Matteo Berrettini.

There were no such difficulties for former champions Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who both won in straight sets. Nadal moved into the second round with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 win over Dudi Sela while Djokovic eased past Tennys Sandgren of the United States 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.

•Culled from Star Tribune.

Source Daily Sports

Posted July 4, 2018


 

You may also like...
Vincent Enyeama terminates his contract with Lille by...

Ronaldo Double Gives Juve Win Against Inter

Ighalo Happy To Extend Man Utd ‘Dream’

Galatasaray Welcome Back Onyekuru With High Hopes

Man Utd 2-0 Brighton: Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno...

Relegated Cardiff Stun Manchester United

 

Latest News Nigeria beat Cameroon to reach IHF final 27 schools for Doregos Basketball Championship Super Falcons to play France’s Les Bleues in friendly SWAN suspends ban on coverage of Anambra FA activities Joshua among boxing’s top three earners in 2024 Oshoala makes history with Bay FC Nnamani hails team over IHF bright start Flamingos lift U-17 W’Cup Fair Play Trophy Rangers Intl, SWAN partner on sports collaboration in SE LAGOS SWAN CELEBRATES AIG ZONE 2 ON HIS BIRTHDAY AND 30 DAYS IN OFFICE Traders Cup: Upholstery Soccer Team Secured 2nd Win To Advance To Round Two Lagos SWAN Celebrates Oba Akiolu, Iyaloja General, AIG Fayoade

 

Most Read Rangers International going, going . . . (55,142 views) Amaju Pinnick: A cat with nine lives (46,269 views) Second Term: Amaju Pinnick, Other NFF Heavyweights Home to Roost •How Pinnick Broke the Jinx (44,350 views) Missing $150,000 IAAF Grant: Solomon Dalung’s Hide and Seek game (43,991 views) Sports Development: Zenith Bank on the zenith (43,932 views) Current issues in Nigerian sports: Matters arising (43,879 views) Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s solid footprints, commitment to sports development in Kano State (43,718 views) NFF Presidency: Pinnick, Maigari, Ogunjobi, Okoye in Battle for Supremacy (43,289 views) Olopade, BET9A wave of revolution in NNL (42,333 views) Commonwealth Games 2018: Shame of Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung (41,036 views) Ibrahimovic’s Man U exit: Whose decision is it? And in whose interest? (39,489 views) John Mikel Obi: Segun Odegbami’s Outrageous Call! (38,916 views)

 

Phone numbers

Tel: +234(0)8066020976
+234(0)8055068145
+234(0)7013416146
+234(0)8094272884

Email addresses

info@dailysportsng.com
support@dailysportsng.com
publisher@dailysportsng.com

Office address

No 3, Adetoun Close, Off College Road, Ogba, Ikeja Lagos.
Website: www.dailysportsng.com

Social Media