US Open champion Sloane Stephens shocked in Wimbledon opener
US Open champion Sloane Stephens crashed out in the first round of Wimbledon after a straight-sets defeat to Donna Vekic.
Stephens, who was also the runner-up at the French Open last month, was downed 6-1 6-3 by the unseeded Croatian.
It was a tough draw for the fourth seed as Vekic is a threat on the grass but Stephens put in an erratic display.
The American had not played since that loss to Simona Halep in Paris and her ring-rust showed as Vekic dominated from the off.
She raced to the first set in just 26 minutes with two breaks of serve but found herself on the back foot when Stephens broke to lead 2-0 early in the second.
Stephens could not capitalise, though, as Vekic won six of the next seven games to complete the biggest Wimbledon scalp of her career after previous first-round exits to Venus Williams and Johanna Konta in the last two years.
"I am very happy to win today, it was a tough match," Vekic said. "I am really happy.
"I tried to go out there and be aggressive, I was struggling with my serve, it was windy, so I am happy to get through.
"I played all the tournaments on grass, I really enjoy playing on it and it helped me."
