Kvitova’s comeback cut short
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has had her Wimbledon dream shattered by 95th ranked American Madison Brengle in the second round.
Brengle triumphed 6-3 1-6 6-2 to defeat the Czech in the biggest upset of the tournament so far.
Kvitova was playing only her third event of the year after recovering from a knife attack at her home in December and had won a warmup tournament in Birmingham last month after making her return to tennis at the French Open.
That led to her being picked among the favourites to add to the Wimbledon titles she won in 2011 and 2014, but Kvitova herself was just happy to be in London.
‘‘No one knows how hard I had to work to be back, so probably that feels more disappointing than it normally is,’’ Kvitova said.
‘‘But on the other hand, it’s been great to be here again. So probably deep in myself I feel very grateful to have this option to play, but on the other hand, I feel sad that I have to leave so early.’’
On a hot day in London several other women’s seeds just escaped their matches, including hometown favourite Johanna Konta and five-time winner Venus Williams, who were both taken the distance.
Konta, Britain’s biggest hope for a women’s champion at Wimbledon, worked her way into the third round after a severe test from Croatia’s Donna Vekic.
Konta trailed early but managed to come back and hang on for a 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 10-8 victory.
Williams rallied from a set down to overcome China’s 55th-ranked Qiang Wang 4-6 6-4 6-1 after arresting the huge number of unforced errors that were spewing from her racquet.
Also coming back from a set down was French Open champions Jelena Ostapenko, who prevailed 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 over 20-year-old Canadian qualifier Francoise Abanda.
There were easier wins for comeback queen Victoria Azarenka, who bypassed 15th seed Elena Vesnina with an impressive 6-3 6-3 victory, while second seed Simona Halep got past Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-5 6-3.
Among the leading men, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal both won in straight sets. Kei Nishikori and JoWilfried Tsonga were others to advance.