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.
