London: Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki has dropped out of the top 50 after her straight-sets, first-round defeat to Svetlana Kuznetsova at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
World number 14 Kuznetsova dispatched Denmark's Wozniacki 7-5 6-4 on Centre Court to book a second-round clash with British wild-card entry Tara Moore.
Wozniacki rose to No 1 in the world in 2010, managing to hold the top spot for 67 weeks.
But the 25-year-old has been unable to maintain that stellar form, and will doubtless view this latest setback as a big frustration.
“It just sucks right now to be out of the tournament - there's not much else to say,” Wozniacki told the official Wimbledon website.
Kuznetsova's reward for a tough but deserved victory is a tie against British wildcard Tara Moore in the second round.
The 31-year-old was delighted with her first grass win this year and told the BBC how special the win under the roof felt: “It was my first grass win this year. It was a tough first round. I think I did great and I am really happy with my performance.
“Caroline stepped up towards the end, I got a little tense and was rushing it. At 5-4 I said to myself I had to play slow.
“It is my first experience to play with the roof closed and it was really special.”
