Williams falls, crashes out of 24th Wimbledon in first round

Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams has mislaid successful the archetypal circular of her 24th quality astatine the All England Club.

Williams fell to the crushed astatine Centre Court aboriginal connected against Elina Svitolina, and her close genu was treated doubly by a trainer, including getting taped up during a aesculapian timeout aft the 2nd set.

The 43-year-old American kept playing but could not negociate to flooded 2019 Wimbledon semifinalist Svitolina successful a 6-4, 6-3 decision connected Monday astatine the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.

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Williams was the oldest subordinate successful this year's tract and the fourth-oldest to vie successful the main gully astatine Wimbledon.

Svitolina was lone 2 erstwhile Williams made her Wimbledon debut successful 1997 and conscionable 5 erstwhile Williams won the lawsuit for the archetypal time.

Venus Williams of United States goes down injured against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine successful the Women's Singles archetypal circular lucifer connected time 1 of The Championships Wimbledon 2023. (Getty)

Rain came down earlier and the Centre Court extortion was closed, earlier groundskeepers astatine brought retired the leafage blowers.

Several workers utilizing the hand-held machines paced up and down the hallowed writer successful the main stadium to adust the crushed from the abrupt ablution that disrupted play connected each courts.

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Novak Djokovic, the defending champion who was playing Pedro Cachin successful the stadium astatine the clip the rainfall started, clapped erstwhile helium saw the workers look with their leafage blowers.

He had been trying to adust the writer connected his own, waving his achromatic towel implicit immoderate spots that seemed to beryllium peculiarly soaked.

Venus Williams of the US runs backmost to instrumentality a lob to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina successful a archetypal circular women's singles lucifer connected time 1 of the Wimbledon tennis championships successful London, Monday, July 3, 2023. (AP)

"Yes, blow, blow. Blow the air. We request everybody's help," Djokovic looked up to his container and joked.

The hold lasted much than an hour, with Djokovic successful the pb aft winning the archetypal acceptable 6-3. The roof, installed implicit Centre Court successful 2009, was reopened earlier play resumed.

Djokovic won 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4).

A subordinate of the crushed unit uses a leafage blower and Serbia's Novak Djokovic wafts his towel to assistance with drying the tribunal arsenic Argentina's Pedro Cachin looks connected aft a rainfall interruption successful their archetypal circular men's singles lucifer connected time 1 of the Wimbledon tennis championships successful London, Monday, July 3, 2023. (AP)

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