‘I lost all energy’ – tearful champion Krejcikova knocked out

Barbora Krejcikova’s Wimbledon title defence came to a tearful end when she ran out of energy “out of nowhere” in a three-set defeat by American 10th seed Emma Navarro in the third round.

The Czech, who had come into the tournament after an injury scare, had seemed to be in control of the match but became increasingly distressed after being taken to a third set in a 2-6 6-3 6-4 defeat.

“First of all, I thought that it was the food, that I ate too early,” she said. “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. “

Krejcikova bent over several times behind the baseline at the end of points and had the trainer on midway through the third set to have her blood pressure taken.

When she was one game from defeat, the 29-year-old leaned against the screen at the back of the court and cried.

Wiping away tears as she held serve to stay in the match, the end came in the following game when she netted as 24-year-old Navarro booked a fourth-round meeting with 18-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva, who is the seventh seed.

Krejcikova was taken to three sets in her first two matches at the All England Club, coming into the match against Navarro having spent almost twice as long on the court as her opponent.

But she had started brightly, using her trademark shot variety to move Navarro around the court in a dominant first set.

She went a break up early in the second but allowed Navarro to get a foothold back in the match with a loose service game – featuring two double faults and a hugely overcooked forehand.

When she lost the second set, she swiftly left the court under a towel while a pumped Navarro stayed on her feet near the scoreboard for much of the break, seemingly keen to keep up the momentum.

Krejcikova’s difficulties worsened in the third set, when she missed five break points and then dropped serve in the third game.

The 17th seed’s troubles then spilled over into an emotional final few games as she saw her crown slip away.

“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,” she added. “But then suddenly out of nowhere I just lost all my energy and I couldn’t really gain it back.