Schnyder crashes out of Wimbledon

Left-handed Schnyder had difficulty with her serve during the match Keystone

Swiss tennis player Patty Schnyder has been knocked out of the Wimbledon Championships by America's Lindsay Davenport after reaching the third round of the Grand Slam for the first time in her career.

Schnyder, towered over by her opponent, was beaten in straight sets 2-6, 3-6.

The American third seed capitalised on Schnyder’s poor serving. Davenport broke Schnyder in the first game of the second set when the 30 seed faulted on seven of her 10 serves.

Schnyder got only 47 per cent of her first serves in comparison with 62 per cent for Davenport. The American held her serve throughout the match.

The Swiss star never seemed to worry her American opponent, and Schnyder admitted after the match she had been unable to match Davenport’s powerful returns.

“She started to play really powerfully,” Schnyder said, “and I don’t particularly like that.”

“Towards the end of the match, I did have some chances, but [Davenport] knew how to win the points that mattered,” she added.

Schnyder’s defeat means Switzerland has only one remaining player in this yeat’s Wimbledon tournament.

Roger Federer, who defeated Sweden’s Jonas Björkman in the third round on Friday, is now due to play the former world number one, Pete Sampras, next week.

swissinfo with agencies