Barbora Krejcikova broke down in tears as her Wimbledon title defence came to an end, with the Czech needing a medical timeout during the final set. Krejcikova beat Jasmine Paolini 6–2, 2–6, 6–4 in last year's Wimbledon final, claiming her second Grand Slam singles title.
However, she has crashed out in the third round at this year's tournament after a 2-6 6-3 6-4 defeat to Emma Navarro. Krejcikova came into the tournament after an injury scare and struggled throughout the game.
The 29-year-old bent over multiple times during the match and a trainer came on midway through the final set to take her blood pressure. Towards the end of the game, Krejcikova was left in tears and struggled to compose herself.
"First of all, I thought that it was the food, that I ate too early," she said afterward. "That's why I started with all the bananas and all the sugars and stuff inside. But I wasn't really feeling better, I was actually feeling worse and worse with with the time on court.
"It's very sad for me and very unfortunate. All I can say is that in the first half of the match I was definitely enjoying myself on the court and I was feeling quite well.
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"But then suddenly out of nowhere I just lost all my energy and I couldn't really gain it back. Emma was just fitter than me, was having more energy, controlling the match at the end."
Navarro, meanwhile, admitted that neither of them had been at their best and hailed Krejcikova as an "amazing player". She said: "Neither of us played our best tennis today.
"She was dealing with injuries at times and I was dealing with whatever I was dealing with. It was really tough today. She is an amazing player, injury or no injury."
Navarro will now face Mirra Andreeva in the last 16 on Monday after the teenager beat Hailey Baptiste 6-1 6-3 in their third round clash. "Before I played today I told myself, 'Just go out there and do something'," Andreeva said.
"I always expect something from myself but I always try to let myself go and enjoy. I feel with every match I play, my level is rising."
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