LONDON: Sofia America Kenin became the highest female seed to fall so far at Wimbledon when she suffered a second round of 6-2 6-4 defeat in her compatriot Madison Bengle on Wednesday.
Open Champion Australia 2020 Kenin, fourth seed, never happened to a cool court and only lasted 45 minutes against an experienced 31-year-old player who had matched it here.
“I really didn’t feel my game,” Kenin who had come out of the Eastbourne tournament last week with a minor injury, said.
“I just feel like I’m going to Wimbledon, I don’t have enough preparation clearly on the grass.” Some other Grand Slam champions avoid going out early even though on a slippery page.
Former Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza maintained its dominant form when he reached the third round with a 6-1 6-4 victory over the Dutch woman Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove.
Muguruza, the winner in 2017, has dropped six matches so far.
Open French champions last year Iga Swiatek, seventh seed, got a better one of Vera Zvonareva Russia aged 36 years when he made his impressive interesting debut.
The 20-year-old Junior champion was tested for the first round against the 2010 runner-up but made light work, a 6-1 6-3 win.
“Every match gives me the opportunity to have more and more confident.
So I’m pretty happy with my appearance today,” said Swigek.
“Playing an experienced player is never easy because he has many years playing on grass.” Latvian Big-Hitter Jelena Ostapenko, who won the French Open in 2017 and reached the Wimbledon semifinals a year later, underlined back to its form with a 6-2 6-2 6-2 victory over a teenager Canada Leylah Fernandez in the first round of delayed.
Former Open Champion A.S.
Sloane Stephens reached the third round for the sixth time with a 7-5 6-3 victory over fellow American Kristie Ahn.
Stephens unseeded now will hope to pass that stage at Wimbledon only for the second time in his career.
Victoria Azarenka, who has never reached the Wimbledon final but has two Australian Open crowns, making her first appearance here this year after Tuesday’s rainfall, redeeming the lost time with a 6-1 6-3 defeat of Kateryna Kozlova from Ukraine.