Defending Wimbledon champion suffers humiliation with first-round exit to create unwanted history
Marketa Vondrousova has been knocked out of Wimbledon
REUTERS
Marketa Vondrousova has become just the second defending women's Wimbledon singles champion to be knocked out in the first round the following year.
Vondrousova made history 12 months ago as she became the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon women's singles title.
But the Czech star has made some unwanted history this time around with her straight-sets defeat to Bouzas Maneiro.
Not since Steffi Graf in 1994 had a defending Wimbledon women's champion lost in the first round the year after winning the title.
Marketa Vondrousova has been knocked out of Wimbledon
REUTERS
Vondrousova entered Wimbledon as the sixth seed, but she was also carrying an injury issue after withdrawing from the Berlin Open last month following a nasty fall.
And she didn't look comfortable against Bouzas Maneiro from the start of the match as she immediately went a break down.
The defending Wimbledon champion bounced back to win three games in a row, but the Spaniard was unrelenting in piling the pressure on her opponent.
Bouzas Maneiro then secured the first set in style with Centre Court left stunned with a huge upset on the cards.
A win for the 21-year-old, who was making her main draw debut at Wimbledon, looked even more likely when Vondrousova was broken in the first game of the second set.
The 25-year-old was seen stretching out her hip midway through the second set as she continued to look uncomfortable.
That seemingly gave her opponent even more confidence, who took her opportunity to secure the biggest win of her young career.
Bouzas Maneiro beamed was given a huge cheer as she stepped up for her post-match on-court interview.
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro pulled off a massive upset
REUTERS
"Now I'm really happy," she said.
"I think this is one of the most important moments of my life, in my career.
"On this court, this is amazing. The atmosphere here, the tournament, is one of the most beautiful tournaments I've ever played in my life."
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Jessica Bouzas Maneiro beamed from ear to ear after her historic win
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The young Spaniard later admitted she felt like she could play with complete freedom.
"She won here last year here, so I felt like I had no pressure," she added.
"Just [wanted to] enjoy the moment, enjoy the tournament, just trying to be free playing and I did it so I'm happy for that."