Canada's Branstine falls to world No. 1 Sabalenka in Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon
Canada's Carson Branstine saw her Grand Slam debut end Monday with a first-round loss to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, falling 6-1, 7-5 at Wimbledon.
Branstine fired seven aces and matched Sabalenka with 17 winners, but the Canadian committed 26 unforced errors and was unable to convert her lone break-point chance.
Still, Branstine found her rhythm in the second set, and Sabalenka took notice.
"In the first set, she didn't serve great, but in the second, most of her serves were 120 mph, which is crazy," Sabalenka said. "I was lucky to break her in one game. Tough match, tough win."
The 23-year-old Branstine, ranked 194th in the world, earned her spot through last week's qualifying tournament at London's All England Club.
WATCH l Sabalenka ousts Branstine in 1st round:
Branstine, who was born in California but represents Canada through family ties in Toronto, was one of four Canadians in singles action Monday.
Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., seeded 29th, was set to face Britain's Hannah Klugman, while Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 25) was drawn against Australia's James Duckworth.
Montreal's Gabriel Diallo was scheduled to make his Wimbledon main-draw debut against Germany's Daniel Altmaier.
cbc.ca
