ANGELIQUE KERBER SAW her Wimbledon title defence improbably ended in the second round by lucky loser Lauren Davis, who overcame an ankle injury to win 2-6 6-2 6-1 on Thursday.
Kerber had been in the same section of the draw as Serena Williams and world number one Ashleigh Barty but will not face either star after falling foul of the dangerous Davis.
The American, already wearing heavy strapping on both her left knee and right shoulder, twisted her left ankle midway through the first set yet remarkably recovered.
Three-time grand slam champion Kerber, by contrast, was completely out of sorts and a break-heavy contest finally went the way of Davis, who plays Carla Suarez Navarro next.
Davis broke the German immediately in the first, creating the opening with the considerable power of her backhand before Kerber prodded into the net.
That backhand was wayward in the following game but, as in Kerber’s first-round match, the breaks kept coming until the first hold saw the fifth seed 3-2 in front.
Davis then skidded towards the net as she sought a response and immediately indicated an issue with her ankle, seeing Kerber ruthlessly break twice to close out the set as she attempted to shake off the problem.
A trainer was belatedly called to Davis’ aid, adding more tape to her ankle, and she improbably but deservedly broke at the start of the second.
The earlier pattern was repeated as Kerber broke and Davis hit back, with the hobbling right-hander this time getting the breakthrough hold to lead at 3-1, before bravely maintaining her advantage at 4-2.
Another break saw Davis ease into a decider and she accelerated out of sight, drawing sloppy errors from the increasingly frustrated Kerber to break three times with relative ease and seal a sensational win.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer wasted little time dismissing the challenge of home hope Jay Clarke, recording a straight-sets win in the second round.
The eight-time All England Club champion triumphed 6-1 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 on Court One, apparently suffering none of the mobility issues that hampered him in the early stages of his opening victory over Lloyd Harris.
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