US Open champion Sloane becomes Wimbledon's first big casualty after going down 1-6, 3-6 to unseeded Croatian Donna Vekic on Day One
A dejected Sloane Stephens during her match against Donna Vekic in London yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
US Open champion Sloane Stephens crashed out in the first round of Wimbledon after a straight-sets defeat to Donna Vekic here yesterday. Stephens, who was also the runner-up at the French Open last month, was downed 1-6, 3-6 by the unseeded Croatian.
It was a tough draw for the fourth seed as Vekic is a threat on the grass but Stephens put in an erratic display. The American had not played since that loss to Simona Halep in Paris and her ring-rust showed as Vekic dominated from the off. She raced to the first set in just 26 minutes with two breaks of serve but found herself on the back foot when Stephens broke to lead 2-0 early in the second.
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Croatia's Donna Vekic is ecstatic after her win yesterday
Serena battles into Round 2
Serena Williams kicked off her bid for an eighth Wimbledon title with a hard-fought 7-5, 6-3 victory over Holland's Arantxa Rus yesterday. The 23-time Grand Slam champion has now won her last 15 singles matches at Wimbledon after clinching the title in 2015 and 2016.
Williams, who missed Wimbledon last year to prepare for the birth of her first child, will play Bulgarian qualifier Viktoriya Tomova or Czech wild card Tereza Smitkova in the second round.
Wozniacki through
Second seed Caroline Wozniacki cruised into the second round with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Varvara Lepchenko. Wozniacki won the Eastbourne warm-up tournament on Saturday.
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