Halep checks out of hotel Wimbledon early

She was favoring an injury and she was – oh, my! – wearing a black sports bra deemed illegal by the Wimbledon powers. But it was easy to see the grass at Wimbledon didn’t favor her this year.

” “Her mental strength simply deserted her. “[Cepelova] played very good tennis”, Halep said, conceding that she struggled to counter Cepelova’s fearless tactic of rushing the net to prevent Halep from dictating the tempo of the match from the baseline.

Highly seeded players rarely do anticipate that sort of quick departure, of course, and four past Wimbledon champions in action Tuesday all won in straight sets as the sun, unobstructed by clouds, brought the temperature to about 85 degrees.

When asked by sportsmail if she knew that her bra strap had caused concern, Bouchard replied, “I was not aware of that at all and no one told me anything about my bra”. It’s so hard to be forced not to play tennis, especially at Wimbledon.

“There was no question I was going to play even though I was advised not to”.

Joining Kvitova in the second round was 10th-seeded German Angelique Kerber who handed compatriot Carina Witthoeft a 6-0, 6-0 drubbing while 13th-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska, the runner-up in 2012, defeated Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2. After reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals, Stephens finished 2013 at No. 12. Bouchard went into the match as a big -459 favorite and while there have been a lot of bad loses on her report card this year, this one should sound the alarms.

Pavel Golovkin/AP Ying-Ying Duan celebrates after defeating Eugenie Bouchard. Cepelova committed just 20 to Halep’s 34.

Second-seeded Federer, bidding to become the first man to win eight Wimbledon titles and take his majors tally to 18, enjoyed a 67-minute, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 win over Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia, the world number 88 he beat at the French Open this year.

The only point Kvitova lost on serve came when she double-faulted on the first point of the final game, hitting a 93 miles per hour (150 kph) second serve just wide.

“I only thought for a second that it maybe wasn’t meant to be this time“, said Watson of fending off those three match points. “I just go on court, and try to improve things, like my serve and my forehand. But if I stick with it, keep going, have the success I know I can have, I think it will be that much sweeter”. Despite Duan getting it to 30-all, Bouchard capped off her opening service game with an ace to consolidate.

“””(Lindsay) Davenport has been my idol since I was a child”, she said of the ex- world No. 1 American super star.

Her loss to world No 85 Lesia Tsurenko in the third round at Indian Wells was the first of six consecutive losses – including two in the Fed Cup. Now I want to see what choices I have in going on holiday. “I hadn’t practiced that much”.

Yes, Bouchard was battling an abdominal injury heading into Wimbledon and that likely played at least a part in Tuesday’s loss.

Looking at her form, Bouchard said: “I’ m very disappointed in my last couple of months”. The world, we thought, was hers to inherit.