Sasnovich upsets two-time Wimbledon champ Kvitova

Unheralded Aliaksandra Sasnovich scored a big upset on Tuesday by recording a stunning 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 first-round victory over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova at the All England Club in London.

The 24-year-old from Belarus finished the match off with an ace down the middle. She swept through the final set in 33 minutes while eliminating the eighth-seeded Kvitova in two hours, 15 minutes.

The victory was just the second over a top-10 player for Sasnovich.

“I know Petra won two times here,” Sasnovich said in a postmatch television interview. “I think is a really good experience for me to play against her. I wasn’t thinking that I would win. … I just give all I could do on the court.”

Sasnovich, ranked 50th in the world, was the stronger player in the opening set before Kvitova recovered to win the second. But the third set was just a dominating show by Sasnovich.

Midway through the set, it became clear Czech star Kvitova couldn’t match Sasnovich’s energy level.

“It was a good match, but I think I can play better,” Sasnovich said. “Petra was good, but I think I deserved it more today. I feel like I can play one more match today.

“I’m happy with my win today, but I’m looking forward. This is just first round. When you come to this tournament, you want to win.”

Sasnovich’s other victory over a top-10 player was against Karolina Pliskova in 2016 at Tokyo.

Sasnovich next faces American Taylor Townsend, who notched a 6-2, 6-4 win over France’s Pauline Parmentier.

Top-seeded Simona Halep also moved on as the Romanian hit 19 winners while prevailing 6-2, 6-4 over Japan’s Kurumi Nara.

“It was a big challenge for me to come out here and win in the first round,” the French Open champ said in a postmatch interview. “It’s not easy after winning a Grand Slam to be honest.”

Defending Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza was never in danger of being upset while recording a 6-2, 7-5 win over England’s Naomi Broady. The third-seeded Spaniard needed just 90 minutes in the first match of her title defense.

No. 11 seed Angelique Kerber of Germany also advanced with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Russian qualifier Vera Zvonareva. The 33-year-old Zvonareva recently returned to the tour after the birth of a child.

Australian Ashleigh Barty, seeded 17th, registered a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele; 22nd-seeded home country favorite Johanna Konta outlasted Russia’s Natalia Vikhlyantseva 7-5, 7-6 (7), 26th-seeded Australian Daria Gavrilova defeated American Caroline Dolehide 6-2, 6-3, and 28th-seeded Anett Kontaveit of Estonia was a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic.

Taipei’s Su-Wei Hsieh defeated 30th-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

–Field Level Media