Marketa Vondrousova was handed the first defeat as a defending champion since Steffi Graf back in 1994 as she by her own admission struggled to deal with the expectation that was thrust upon her as being the Wimbledon poster woman after winning 12 months ago.
Vondrousova said that she struggled with nerves going into her 6-4, 6-2 loss to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and that her recent injury which she sustained in Berlin did not help her cause either. A shock winner 12 months ago, she has not shown any form since then to show that she could return to that vintage this time around.
So perhaps it wasn't a huge shock given her opponent is also on the up. But it seems that for Vondrousova, it was the case of being overawed with the situation mixed with not being 100%.
"I feel like even if you, like, don't want to think about it, you just think about it, I don't know, all the time here. I see posters here and everything, my name everywhere," Vondrousova said.
"Yeah, I mean, it was amazing feeling to go back on the Centre Court. The match was very tough. Yeah, now it's liked mixed feelings. I love to be here. I would love to stay longer also. I won last year. Yeah, it was amazing. Yeah, today was really tough."
She added: "It's tough to go out defending the title. I was really nervous from the morning and everything. She was also playing good tennis, so that's kind of tough, too. You don't have many chances to, I don't know, just win free points maybe. She was returning also good.
"My serve wasn't so good today. Overall, I think I wasn't at my best, and she was playing good."
"I think practice was fine and everything. Today I was a bit scared because of my leg, too. But I don't think that was the reason. I felt the nervous from the start," she explained.
"She was also playing a good match. That was kind of tough, too. Yeah, overall it was very tough. Yeah, it's tough feelings also to go back. I feel like everybody just expects you to win maybe. That's tough, too.
"I was happy to be back on the Centre Court. Yeah, it just didn't go as planned today."
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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