Marketa Vondrousova made history as the first defending Wimbledon women's champion in 30 years to suffer a first-round exit, falling to Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Tuesday. The Czech sixth seed's reign ended quietly with a 6-4, 6-2 loss, mirroring the disappointment faced by two-time champion Andy Murray. Murray, plagued by injuries, withdrew from the singles on the second day of the Championships, just as the gates opened, due to a spinal cyst surgery. Despite this, he might still participate in the doubles with his brother Jamie later this week.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic, despite recent knee surgery and doubts about his Wimbledon participation, demonstrated his prowess by defeating Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. Djokovic, aiming for a record 25th Grand Slam title, showed no signs of his knee issues and expressed satisfaction with his performance.
Rain interruptions did not affect top-seeded Iga Swiatek, who overcame a challenging first-round match against American Sofia Kenin under the Court One roof. Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion, won 6-3, 6-4. Vondrousova, who won the title last year as an unseeded player, now holds the unfortunate record of a first-round exit, blaming her nerves rather than her hip injury for the defeat.
In other matches, Russian Andrey Rublev, the highest men's seed to depart, was shocked by Argentina's Francisco Comesana in his Grand Slam debut. Alexander Zverev and Hubert Hurkacz both secured easy victories, while 2022 women's champion Elena Rybakina started strong against qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse. American fifth seed Jessica Pegula also won her match, dropping only two games.
