Wimbledon women’s singles champion Linda Noskova lost her first match since her All England Club triumph with a straight-sets loss at the Canadian Open on Wednesday.
The Czech player, who is now the world No 7, lost in straight-sets to American Caty McNally in Toronto, 7-6(5), 6-1.
Noskova was actually leading 5-1 in the first set and had two set-point opportunities but couldn’t convert, with world No 70 McNally advancing to the third round.
Meanwhile, world No 3 and Wimbledon men’s singles finalist Alexander Zverev was also defeated in his first match in four weeks.
Competing in Montreal, top seed Zverev lost in three sets to Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4. It is the first time all season Zverev has lost his first match of any tournament.
“I expected not to play well this week,” he said afterwards. “I played very well the last couple of months; I took a little bit of time off. And I practiced then, but it’s tough competition.”
“I think this was probably the worst match of the season that I’ve had this year. I didn’t have many bad matches, but this one was up there as the worst.
“But that’s okay. It’s a process. Tennis comes with ups and downs. I’m very happy with how the last couple of months were. Now it’s about getting back to that form.”
Zverev lost to world No 1 Jannik Sinner in the final at Wimbledon, but the Italian has opted to skip the event in Montreal
Noskova, Zverev and Sinner will play at the Cincinnati Open, the final masters-level tournament before the US Open which starts on 30 August.
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev was another high-profile casualty in Montreal, losing 6-3, 7-6(5) to Botic van de Zandschulp, but Briton Cameron Norrie progressed to the last-32 with a straight-sets win over Ignacio Buse.
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