Written by Richard Pagliaro | @Itenisi_Manje | Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport
Self-doubt stuck Marketa Vondrousov as strong as the tattoos that adorn his arms.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Vondrousova couldn’t shake the nerves or brave strikes from Jessica Bouzas Maneiro a racquet.
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In her Wimbledon debut, Bouzas Maneiro dethroned defending champion Vondrousova 6-4, 6-2 in a shocking and historic Wimbledon opening round.
Sixth-seeded Vondrousova made embarrassing history.
Thirty years after serving and the American volleyer Lori McNeil surprised Steffi Graf 7-5, 7-6 in a rain-interrupted Wimbledon opener, Vondrousova became the first defending women’s champion to exit the first round of The Championships.
Today, the uncertain Vondrousova was hampered by a hip injury, spiking nerve and cannot solve the 21-year-old Spaniard.
“I think the practice was good and everything. Yes, today I was a little afraid because of my leg,” Vondrousova told the press at Wimbledon. “But I don’t think that was the reason. I felt nervous from the start.
“Yeah, I mean, he was playing a good game. That was tough, too.
“Overall it was very difficult. Yes, emotions are difficult and going back. I feel like everyone expects you to win maybe. It’s difficult as well.”
Signs of the jitters were evident in the opening game as the left-handed Czech caught three double faults to close out the break—and a confidence boost for the Wimbledon debutant.
“Today I was really nervous from the beginning. I, like, I couldn’t maybe shake it,” said Vondroussova. “Yeah, he was playing well too. I didn’t, I don’t know, like I got a lot of chances to get back into the game or he didn’t give me a lot of free points.
“Yeah, credits to him. I’ll come back strong, I hope.”
An exit from the French Open final means we will see an eighth different woman lift the Rosewater Dish for the eighth consecutive year on Saturday, July 13.
Serena Williams, who won the Wimbledon tournament in 2015 and 2016 respectively is the last woman to successfully defend The Championships.
Although Vondrousova looked physically vulnerable, credit to the 83rd-ranked Spaniard for beating the first set. Bouzas Maneiro scored his first major draw win, his first victory on grass court and his first 10 wins in a career that left him in tears of joy.
Across the net, you have to feel for Vondroussova, who has endured her share of personal pain in the year after rising to the top.
Last April, Vondrousova announced she and her husband Stepan Simek they were divorcing—and her husband had taken her beloved cat Frankie.
“I haven’t had a very happy time in the last few weeks. My marriage with Stepan ended a few weeks ago, we broke up,” Vondrousova told the Czech website Blesk last April. “He went out with the cat.”
Divorce ends a close relationship of eight years. The couple, who started dating as teenagers back in 2006, got engaged around the 2020 Olympics. They got married on July 16, 2022.
“It didn’t work out for us,” Vondroussova said. “It wasn’t what we both thought, so we agreed that we won’t be together anymore. “Now we are officially settling the divorce, but we have agreed on everything.”
Despite everything he’s been through, the Olympic silver medalist has shown the mental toughness to keep competing.
Despite today’s defeat, Vondrousova will always have memories of her magical Wimbledon run, lifting the Rosewater Dish and the experience of knowing if she can get her life back, she is dangerous in all areas.
“It’s difficult to go out and defend the title. Yes, I was really nervous from the morning and everything,” said Vondrousova today. “Yeah, he was playing good tennis, so that’s tough, too.
“You don’t have many chances to win, I don’t know, just win free points maybe. He was coming back good again. Yeah, my serve wasn’t that good today. Overall, I think I wasn’t at my best. , and he was playing well.”
