Birmingham Classic: Magdalena Rybarikova stuns World No 7 Karolina Pliskova in first round; Kristina Mladenovic wins

World number seven Karolina Pliskova’s Wimbledon preparations suffered a setback in a 6-2, 6-3 defeat by Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia in the opening round of the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham on Monday.

Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova in action during her Round of 32 match against Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova. Reuters

The 29-year-old Rybarikova, who ended Pliskova’s Wimbledon campaign last year in a three-set thriller, was in complete control from the start as she claimed the victory in just over an hour.

“Karolina is a great player, and I have a lot of respect for her,” Rybarikova, the 2009 winner in Birmingham, said courtside.

“Today I don’t think it was her best day, but it was all about serves and returns and I was just better at that. That was the key.

“I put so many returns in, and maybe she was thinking about our last match in Wimbledon. It could have been a different result today, but I’m so happy that I won this match.”

Rybarikova will face Kristina Mladenovic for a place in the quarter-finals after the Frenchwoman edged past Czech Katerina Siniakova 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.