Day 2 at Wimbledon saw the defending champion up-ended in the 1st-round as a a physically hampered Marketa Vondrousova lost to 21-year old Spaniard, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Centre Court.
This will be a day that Bouzas Maneiro will never forget, after she pulled off a seismic shock to oust Vondrousova, 6-4 6-2, in just 67 minutes.
Ranked 83 in the world, Bouzas Maneiro had never won a Grand Slam main draw match, and was seeking a maiden tour-level victory on grass, which she achieved with an inspired performance.
For Bouzas Maneiro, this is by far her biggest career win by ranking, and she had never defeated a Top 40 player before Tuesday. The Spaniard, though, has been serving notice over the past 12 months that she is one to watch.
There were early signs that things might not go exactly to form under the closed roof of Centre Court, when Vondrousova fired 3 double-faults in her opening service game. The Bouzas Maneiro backhand was solid in the opener, and a love hold at 5-4 put the Spaniard a set away from the upset. Strong returning gave her a break for 2-1 in the second set, and the unseeded player started to take control for good when she slammed a backhand winner down the line to consolidate for 3-1.
Bouzas Maneiro dominated with crosscourt forehands to break again for 5-2, and if she was nervous serving for the match, she did not show it, as she quickly powered to double match point, and a final backhand winner wrapped up her first grass-court win in a tour-level main draw.
“I think this is one of the most important moments in my life in my career here,” the smiling 21-year-old told the Centre Court crowd.
The Spaniard is now excited to celebrate with her team before focusing on the 2nd round where she will face either Cristina Bucsa, also from Spain, or Ana Bogdan from Romania. Bouzas Maneiro won 77% of her first-serve points in the clash, and while Vondrousova had 6 more winners than the Spaniard, the Czech left-hander was undone by 28 unforced errors, doubling Bouzas Maneiro’s 14.
Meanwhile, on No 1 Court, also under the roof, 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina eased into the 2nd-round with a quick 6-3 6-1 win over Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse in an hour and 11 minutes.
Jessica Pegula, the World No 5, made extremely light work of compatriot Ashlyn Krueger in the all-American affair on No 2 Court, romping to a 6-2 6-0 victory in just 49 minutes.
Pegula won 86% of her first serve points and 71% behind her second serve, and while dropping just 7 points overall, she not only avoided facing any break points, she was not taken to deuce at all either.
