WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Two weeks after emerging triumphant at the French Open, Francesca Schiavone stood on the other end of the Grand Slam spectrum at Wimbledon on Monday.
Schiavone became just the second reigning Roland Garros champion in the Open Era, which began in 1968, to be knocked out of Wimbledon in the first round when she lost 6-7 (0), 7-5, 6-1 to Russia’s Vera Dushevina after nearly three hours on Court 2.
The 29-year-old Italian said she wished she had an extra two or three weeks to make the transition from clay to grass but denied she felt extra pressure now she was a Grand Slam champion.
“Maybe I could have been more aggressive at times,” she said, referring to the four break points she failed to convert in the 11th game of the second set.
“I didn’t have a lot of energy today. It was very close, but she took advantage of her chances, and I didn’t. I’ll lift my head and start from scratch.”
The 56th-ranked Dushevina was not concerned when she learned last Friday that she had been drawn to play Schiavone in the opening round.
The 23-year-old Dushevina, a former girls’ champion at the All England Club, defeated Schiavone on clay last year in Rome and always fancied her chances of repeating that result on grass, her favorite surface.
“I had a plan for today. Francesca, she’s the champion of Roland Garros, but it’s a very different surface, clay and grass,” Dushevina said.
“I was the junior champion here so I know how to play on grass. It’s a lot tougher on grass because it’s much faster.”
Dushevina, who has made the fourth round of a Grand Slam only once in 26 attempts, will play Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round.
“I really want to stay for the second week,” Dushevina said.