Britain's Johanna Konta joined the exodus of women's seeds at Wimbledon on Thursday, beaten 6-3 6-4 by Dominica Cibulkova, a player with a point to prove.
Konta became the first British woman to reach the Wimbledon semifinals since 1978 last year, losing to Venus Williams, but her hopes of repeating that thrilling run were crushed by an inspired Slovakian on a subdued Centre Court.
Cibulkova missed out on the 32nd seeding when Wimbledon's seedings committee bumped seven-times champion Serena Williams up the order and she played with a fierce intent throughout.
Konta, seeded 22, could do nothing to stem the tide of winners as Cibulkova stormed ahead.
She showed real guts to save four match points at 3-5 in the second set as the crowd rallied to the cause.
But Cibulkova showed no nerves as she served for victory, going 40-0 up and finishing off the Briton with a powerful first serve that Konta could only fend into the net.
“It feels great, it was a tough draw today and I could not be more happy with my performance,” Cibulkova, twice a quarterfinalist, said. “I don't really think about the seeding now, I'll just focus on my tennis.”
Cibulkova will play Elise Mertens for a last 16 spot.
Comments
SHARE