Twice champion Kvitova knocked out

LONDON (Reuters) – Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova was knocked out in the second round by 95th ranked American Madison Brengle on Wednesday.

Brengle triumphed 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 to defeat the Czech who won at the All England Club in 2011 and 2014.

Kvitova was playing her third event of the year after recovering from a knife attack at her home in December.

The Czech won a warm-up tournament in Birmingham last month after making her return to tennis at the French Open.

Venus Williams continued to fly the family flag in the absence of her sister and reigning Wimbledon champion Serena but suffered a scare against China’s 55th-ranked Qiang Wang in the second round.

The 37-year-old American, bidding for a sixth Wimbledon title, made a slow start but hit back to win 4-6, 6-4, PETRA KVITOVA, two-time Wimbledon champion (2011, 2014), lost 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 to the 95th ranked American Madison Brengle yesterday. 6-1 on a warm and sultry Court One.

Her opponent, playing her fourth singles match at Wimbledon compared to the 97 contested by Williams, was threatening a shock when she had break points at 3-3 in the second set against the misfiring 10th seed.

But Williams used her experience to steady the ship and leveled the match with a backhand pass before running away with the decider to book a third-round match against Japan’s Naomi Osaka.

Williams is the only former champion remaining in the women’s draw.

She came to Wimbledon under a cloud after being involved in a road traffic accident last month in Florida which resulted in the death of a 78-year-old man.

Her sister Serena, who she lost to in this year’s Australian Open final, is absent because she is expecting a baby.

Meanwhile in the men’s singles, defending champion Andy Murray outclassed German maverick Dustin Brown 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in an entertaining match of exhibition style points, overcoming a potentially tricky opponent with a reputation for giant-killing.

Brown, ranked 97th in the world, beat twice champion Rafael Nadal in the second round in 2015 and set out his familiar game plan of baffling drop shots right from the start.

But despite being moved all round the court by a barrage from Brown in the blazing heat, Briton Murray gave as good as he got – and better – playing the same shots with more accuracy and control.

Murray only rarely showed signs of the sore hip that has been troubling him and he came through an easy winner.

“It has been a good start, hopefully I keep it going,” said Murray, who plays Italy’s Fabio Fognini, seeded 28th, in round three.