Defending champion Mauresmo out
Mauresmo suffered a shock defeat on centre court
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Tuesday, 03, Jul 2007 11:43
Defending Wimbledon ladies' champion Amelie Mauresmo has crashed out of the 2007 Championships after losing to number 14 seed Nicole Vaidisova in the fourth round.
The Frenchwoman, who secured a remarkable and emotional victory on centre court against Justin Henin last year, looked a shadow of her former self as she struggled to adapt to the slippery conditions underfoot.
Mauresmo's 7-6 4-6 6-1 defeat was interrupted by rain breaks on two separate occasions during another disrupted day at the All England Club.
And it was Czech player Vaidisova who coped better with the situation as the players were on and off court throughout the afternoon.
Mauresmo's unforced-errors count of 37 lead to her downfall, while her four breaks of serve from six breakpoint opportunities were outdone by Vaidisova's five, and all also came in the first two sets.
The world number 14 Vaidisova secured two breaks in the deciding frame, enabling her to take full control and see off the reigning champion.
Also in the fourth round, fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia completed her victory over Austria's Tamira Paszek in straight sets, 6-3 6-2.
And sixth seed Ana Ivanovic also progressed, despite a scare against 11th seed Nadia Petrova. The Serbian stormed through the first set 6-1 but lost concentration in the second as her Russian opponent fought back to take the second 6-2.
However a topsy-turvey decider, which included three breaks of serve - one from Petrova and two from Ivanovic - eventually saw the higher seed progress with a 6-4 victory in the third.