Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain caused a major upset on Centre Court at Wimbledon, defeating the defending champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in straight sets in their first-round match. Ranked 83rd in the world and playing in only her third Grand Slam main draw, Bouzas Maneiro secured her maiden Grand Slam victory with a commanding 6-4, 6-2 win in just over an hour.
The Spaniard capitalized on all five of her break point opportunities to achieve this remarkable feat. Vondrousova, seeded 6th, became only the second defending champion in the Open Era of Wimbledon to lose in the opening round, the last instance being 30 years ago when Lori McNeil defeated Stefanie Graf.
This victory marks the most significant win of 21-year-old Bouzas Maneiro's career based on rankings. Prior to this match, she had never defeated a player ranked in the top 40, with her sole previous encounter against a top 10 player resulting in a loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Madrid.
Despite her relatively brief career on the Grand Slam stage, Bouzas Maneiro has been steadily making her mark in the tennis world over the past year. She clinched her first WTA 125 title in Antalya earlier in April and broke into the top 100 shortly thereafter, halving her ranking from 167th a year ago.
Having previously qualified for Wimbledon last year, Bouzas Maneiro displayed her potential early in the match against Vondrousova, capitalizing on the Czech's three double faults in the opening service game. She showcased a solid backhand throughout and secured the first set with a confident love hold at 5-4.
In the second set, Bouzas Maneiro continued her strong performance, breaking early for a 2-1 lead and consolidating with aggressive play, including a crucial backhand winner down the line to extend her advantage to 3-1. She dominated with powerful crosscourt forehands to break again for 5-2 and closed out the match swiftly, winning 77% of her first-serve points overall.
Despite Vondrousova hitting more winners, Bouzas Maneiro's disciplined play proved decisive as she capitalized on the Czech's 28 unforced errors compared to her own 14. Bouzas Maneiro's next challenge will be an all-Spanish encounter in the second round against Cristina Bucsa, who narrowly edged past Ana Bogdan in a tight three-setter on Tuesday.
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