Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Iga Swiatek has lost what looks as if it will be her only grass-court match before she sets out on the defence of her Wimbledon title, succumbing in the Bad Homburg Open.
The Polish great wasn’t the only luminary to suffer in the pre-Wimbledon event in Germany on Wednesday either, as Mirra Andreeva lost her first match since winning the French Open, beaten in her only grass-court tune-up by fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Top seed Swiatek had a difficult day, struggling with her serve in a 7-5 2-6 6-3 defeat to American Emma Navarro.
Swiatek, whose victory last year at Wimbledon proved somewhat of a shock as she’d never shown decent form on grass before the 2025 campaign, had six double faults in the first set alone.
Nottingham Open runner-up Navarro was in the mood to cash in, as she improved to a 6-2 record on grass this season, setting up a clash with Elena Gabriela Ruse in the quarter-finals.
Earlier the two Russian adversaries had hugged at the net after Alexandrova overcame the 19-year-old Andreeva 6-3 6-4 on a baking day for a place in the quarter-finals.
The highlight of Andreeva’s return to action after her Paris breakthrough was pulling off a table tennis-style trick dropshot, in which she imparted so much backspin on the ball that it plopped over the net only to bounce back over to the youngster’s side of the court for her to win the point.
Alexandrova will next face Japanese Naomi Osaka, with both having a great chance now the top three seeds have been eliminated.
French Open quarterfinalist Elina Svitolina, the third seed, had withdrawn ahead of the quarter-finals, citing fitness issues after her second-round win over Liudmila Samsonova.
“It took a little bit more than expected out of my body, so therefore I need a few more days to recover,” she said, with the start of Wimbledon only five days away.
