Two-time champ Kvitova out
Return from injury ended by American in second round.
LONDON — Madison Brengle knew, of course, that her opponent, Petra Kvitova, was a two-time Wimbledon champion and a popular pick to win the title again this year.
Brengle also was aware, of course, that she never had won so much as one main-draw match at the All England Club until this week.
This, instead, is all the 27-year-old from Dover, Delaware, was focused on as she began playing Kvitova on Wednesday evening on Court No. 2: Just win a game. The 95th-ranked Brengle did just that and much more, stunning the 11th-seeded Kvitova 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 to reach the third round at Wimbledon.
The reason for Brengle’s preoccupation with taking a single game? In her Wimbledon debut in 2015, she lost to Venus Williams 6-0, 6-0.
“So, like, that’s always in my head when I’m out here,” Brengle said, pointing at her right temple. “It’s like, ‘Oh, my goodness, don’t do that ever again!’ That was really tough for me.”
Kvitova, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, had been favored by some bookmakers, despite competing in only her third tournament of her comeback. She was attacked by a knife-wielding intruder at her home in December and needed surgery on her left hand, the one she uses to hold a racket.
Still without full strength in that hand, Kvitova returned at the French Open in May, losing in the second round there. But then she won a grass-court title at Birmingham in June.
“I feel just really empty right now. I know my body; it’s not great. But mentally I’m really glad that it’s over. I mean, it was kind of a fairy tale, but on the other hand, it was very tough,” she said. “I just need to look forward and look to the future.”
Kvitova said she felt ill Wednesday, and she was visited by a trainer in the third set.
With the temperature soaring toward 85 degrees, Kvitova was one of a halfdozen seeded women to lose, including No. 15 Elina Vesnina (beaten by new mom Victoria Azarenka) and No. 17 Madison Keys.
Spare change? Unhappy with a call in the fifth set, Daniil Medvedev threw a handful coins toward chair umpire Mariana Alves after his second-round loss.
The 49th-ranked Russian repeatedly apologized, saying that he was not trying to imply that Alves was biased. “I was just disappointed and (did) a stupid thing,” said Medvedev, who upset Stan Wawrinka in the first round.
When his 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3 loss to Ruben Bemelmans ended, Medvedev shook hands with his opponent and Alves. But then he grabbed his wallet from his bag and tossed the coins toward the bottom of the official’s chair.