Barbora Krejcikova needed a comeback to avoid becoming the second consecutive Wimbledon women’s champion to lose in the first round a year later at the All England Club, eventually eliminating 56th-ranked Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 3-6,

The defending champion losing in the first round of Wimbledon is vanishingly rare. Until Marketa Vondrousova crumbled in her opener last year, earning an unwanted place in the history books, it hadn’t been done – on the women’s side – since Steffi Graf had a campaign to forget in 1994.

World number one Jannik Sinner stayed cool to reach the second round of Wimbledon while several of his fellow seeds including Italian compatriot Lorenzo Musetti and American hope Jessica Pegula crashed and burned on a sizzling Tuesday.