Pliskova loses to twin, Barty in winning start

WORLD No3 Karolina Pliskova lost to her twin sister Krist yna, while French Open champion Ashleigh Barty started her grass court season with a win a t t he Bi r mi ng h a m C l a s s ic on Wednesday.

In t he f irst meeting of t he Pliskova t wins since 2012, it was 112-ra nked Kristyna who edged a three-set thriller 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7).

Kristyna Pliskova will take on another Czech player next as she faces Barbora Strycova for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Barty suffered no such shocks as she saw of f a bright start from Croatia’s Donna Vekic in her first match since lif ting a f irst Grand Sla m tit le to win 6-3, 6-4.

“I think it was probably as smooth as it could have gone,” said Barty, who set up a second round meeting with American Jennifer Brady.

“I felt really good with my feet on the grass. We haven’t had a hell of a lot of grass court time because of the weather but in a sense that made it even better because it was fresh, it was new.

“I could rea lly just play by feel and t r y a nd work my way i nt o t he match.”

T he Aust r a l ia n shot to No2 i n t he world ra n k i ngs by winning i n Pa r is ea rl ier t his mont h a nd cou ld even end the week as No1 if she outperforms Naomi Osaka in England’s Midlands.

However, Barty insists she is not yet feeling any strain of being a Grand Slam champion.

“I don’t feel any dif ferent myself,” she added. “I’m st i l l t he sa me Ash Bart y that I was three weeks ago. I’m the same Ash Bart y I was t wo years ago.”

Johanna Konta’s Wimbledon preparations also suffered a blow as she lost to Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-4.

A former French Open winner herself, Ostapenko has struggled with injuries this season but has now posted back-to-back wins for just the second time this year.

Venus Williams progressed to round two as the 39-year-old eased past Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3, 6-4.