LONDON :It was far from convincing, but Barbora Krejcikova kept her Wimbledon defence on track on Thursday – just – with a laboured 6-4 3-6 6-2 second round win over American Caroline Dolehide.
The Czech creaked rather than cruised into the third round, moving past the American in a match as scrappy as a Henman Hill picnic after a seagull attack.
Court Two spectators, many blissfully unaware they were watching the reigning champion, might be forgiven — Krejcikova herself barely looked the part.
A season dogged by back and thigh niggles has left her short of sharpness, and her patchy 4-3 record for the season coming in was on full display in a match strewn with errors.
Still, the 17th seed did just enough to scrape through to gentle applause and a sterner test ahead: 10th seed Emma Navarro, who won’t be quite so generous.
(Editing by Christian Radnedge)
