Schiavone Out of Wimbledon after Losing to Dushevina
The 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone lost her way in her opening match at Wimbledon. The Italian 7th seed before coming into the match looked in a top form due to her recent Grand Slam win. Even though Schiavone is not a grass court specialist but still the French Open champion had stored some tricks up on her sleeves. Schiavone, after winning at Roland Garros has increased both her confidence and game spirit. Due to all these reason, she was seed fifth at Wimbledon by the All England Club. Schiavone played in the opening match against Russian Vera Dushevina and eventually lost it by 6-7, 7-5 and 6-1. It was a major upset of Wimbledon so far.
In her total 10 appearances at Wimbledon, Schiavone has so far only progressed once in Wimbledon. Last year she reached the quarter finals and was defeated by Elena Dementieva. The first set against the Russian was tough for Schiavone, as it lasted for 74 minutes. The opening set went into a tie break which was later won by the Italian herself in a vigorous manner. The opening set involved a lot of efforts from the Italian. Dushevina tried to slow the Italian by playing hard shots. Schiavone superbly played all the shots and fought back his opponent. As the second set started, it seemed as if Schiavone will take the set again from the Russian but the odds turnover this time, as the Russian made a quick comeback and took the set 7-5. Schiavone who will be 30 in a few months is considered as one of the finest players at women’s bench. After the second set, Schiavone began to wither and that process continued in the third set. The third set was won stunningly by Dushevina, who took the set 6-1 and sealed her victory.
The Italian star player failed to repeat his French Open form at Wimbledon. Schiavone also was not able to perform well at Eastbourne last week and was defeated in the first round. The reason was due to the weariness which she suffered while celebrating her French Open victory over Sam Stosur. Schiavone claims that she has not exhausted herself with the celebration of her French Open victory and also has not lost focus. The only reason behind her inability to perform well in both the tournaments was the immediate change of surface and quality of opposition. Schiavone after the match said that the surface was dissimilar and the atmosphere felt different as compared to Paris. She also said that she tried her best and didn’t take any chance. It’s not easy to win on grass, if you don’t serve good or play the ball right.
At Wimbledon Vera Dushevina has never passed a second round. The Russian seed 56 looks in top form, as she defeated this year’s French Open champion. During her match against Schiavone, the 23 year old held her spirits high and claimed one of the biggest wins of her career. British teenager Laura Robson, the former junior Wimbledon champion was defeated by 4th seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia by 6-3 and 7-6. The 16 year old showed signs of stress in the opening minutes of the match but soon she overcomes the odds. Robson went head to head with the former World No. 1 and was far better than experienced players like Melanie South and Elena Baltacha.
Another big upset that took place on Monday was the defeat of Former French Open winner Ana Ivanovic by hands of Israel’s Shahar peer. The Serbian seed 45 played the match with all her efforts but still was not able to reach the performance level of Shahar Peer. Ivanovic went down the set 6-3 and 6-4 in the opening match at Wimbledon. Vera Dushevina has now moved to the second round at Wimbledon. The 23 years old is in great form this year and will be looking to go a long way in the tournament.
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