Krejcikova survives tough opener as she defends title

Number two seed Coco Gauff is knocked out in first round

- FLO CLIFFORD

The defending champion losing in the first round of Wimbledon is vanishingly rare. Until Marketa Vondrousova crumbled in her opener last year, earning an unwanted place in the history books, it hadn’t been done - on the women’s side - since Steffi Graf had a campaign to forget in 1994.

But a day after Carlos Alcaraz required four-and-a-half hours and five sets to see off Italian veteran Fabio Fognini, the “potential upset” alarm bells rang once more as women’s defending champion Barbora Krejcikova found herself wilting in the southwest London heat against an inspired Alexandra Eala. Having already made history and broken records for the Philippines, Eala, on her debut at Wimbledon, fancied writing another chapter, before ultimately succumbing 6-3 2-6 1-6.

Tennis crowds - and Wimbledon in particular - love a plucky underdog. The irony here is that 56th-ranked Eala wasn’t really an underdog, having shot up the rankings and proven herself equal to the big stage. The 20-year-old is no stranger to a giantkilling: she beat three top-10 players en route to a maiden WTA 1000 semi-final in Miami earlier this year, including that instantly memorable, superb victory over Iga Swiatek.

In fact, Wimbledon’s win predictor gave her a narrow edge over Krejcikova. What should have been a huge gulf between an exciting youngster and an established player, the defending champion, was instead a much more level battlefield. Krejcikova has played just six matches this year after a back injury derailed the early part of her season, and no sooner was she back, reaching the quarter-finals at Eastbourne, than a thigh injury forced her to pull out.