Defending Champ Kvitova Dumped at Wimbledon; Germans Exit Too

Defending Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova saw her defense effort shot down on Saturday at Wimbledon by former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, who upset the Czech 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 at the All England Club.
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Kvitova led a set and 3-1 up, but could not close out the No. 28 seed as the unforced errors started to pile up. In the third set at 4-4 Kvitova stopped play to challenge a call, even though she had hit a winner on the next stroke, and the call went against her and Jankovic held. The call took a toll on her confidence in the next game on serve as nervous unforced errors by Kvitova cost her the match.

“I cannot stop smiling,” Jankovic said. “I’m really, really happy. I was just happy to be playing and competing on grass. Grass is not my favorite surface and Petra plays so well on it. I think it’s her favorite surface. It shows by winning two Wimbledon titles.”

Jankovic will in the fourth round meet No. 13 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who eased past Australia’s Casey Dellacqua 6-1, 6-4.

Another player that could not hold her nerve on the verge of entering the second week was the young Italian Camila Giorgi, who committed 30 unforced errors in handing the match to No. 5 seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-2.

Wozniacki will next meet No. 20 seed Garbine Muguruza Blanco, a big upset winner Over No. 10 Angelique Kerber 7-6(12), 1-6, 6-2.

Muguruza on her worst surface took it to Kerber with an aggressive game plan.

“It means something very special, obviously,” the Spaniard said, “because it’s on grass. It’s weird for me, because it’s not the best Grand Slam I played, because I always had bad results. So now I’m getting really happy to be here because I feel more comfortable, so it’s getting more special every time.”

It was an overall German exodus from the tournament as No. 18 seed Sabine Lisicki also lost, beaten by No. 15 Timea Bacsinszky, who continued her spring and summer hot streak 6-3, 6-2. The Swiss will next meet Romania’s Monica Niculescu, who was a winner over Czech Kristyna Pliskova 6-3, 7-5.

American No. 21 seed Madison Keys defeated Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-4, and her draw continues to stay open with a fourth-round meeting against Belarus’ Olga Govortsova, who on Saturday beat Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova 7-6(4), 6-3.