China's Xu and Zhu crash out of Wimbledon

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia reacts during her match against Yi-Fan Xu of China at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, June 29, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - China's Xu Yifan was crushed by 7th seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in the first round of the Wimbledon Championships here on Monday.

The 27-year-old Xu, ranked 173rd in the world and entering Wimbledon for the first time as a qualifier, was beaten 6-1, 6-1 by the former French Open champion in one hour and two minutes.

Her Chinese teammate Zhu Lin surrendered a first-set lead to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus in a closer clash.

Zhu, ranked 116th, lost to the 137th-ranked rival 6-4, 5-6, 1-6.

Three Chinese players feature in the opening day's fixture, with Wang Qiang taking on Dutch woman Richel Hogenkamp in a later match.