LONDON — Simona Halep lost her chance to go on a court she likened to "a very nice hotel" after she checked out of Wimbledon early on Tuesday following a shock 5-7 6-4 6-3 defeat by 106th-ranked Slovakian Jana Cepelova.
The Romanian third seed made it to the semi-finals 12 months ago but came unstuck under a flurry of unforced errors, her tally of 34 including seven double faults.
The result completed a miserable month for 2014 French Open runner-up Halep who was knocked out in the second round at Roland Garros.
The 23-year-old will be eager to forget about her Court One ordeal as not only was she broken eight times, she also lost to a woman who had previously won only one tour level match all year.