Drama Muguruza at the Australian Open

“The truth is that the main moments cost me. I start playing well and then I don’t show the highest level. You have to be determined to shut out these kinds of moments.” Garbiñe Muguruza continues without holding her head high, and this Tuesday she bid farewell to the Australian Open in the first exchange after losing in the first round against Belgian Elise Mertens 3-6, 7-6(3) and 6-1 in a match in which she served to win.

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It was the third loss in three games this season which, added to a disastrous 2022, led her to fall in the WTA ranking, where she is in 73rd place (it will drop to 81 after the Australian Open), which will lead her to change her plan in the coming months.

“I need to make a proper calendar with my rank. I’ll try to play the best tournaments too but when I can’t, I’ll look at other lower ones. I will appreciate this kind of contests”, he said in the press room after a match that started at a very good level, with an early break that allowed him to get the first set back on track.

The former number one held serve in two crucial moments saving ‘break’ balls, for 3-2 and 4-3and the Belgian was submerged in a sea of ​​doubts that plagued the Spaniard until the first set was won.

Both players had a longer break than usual due to the intense heat but the tables were not turned after the 2020 Melbourne Park finalist suffered a break in the opening game of the second set.

At this moment, one of the two lapidary errors made by the Spanish in squandered a 40-15 lead with a favorable 1-0 and his rival in thought was far from possible return.

The Belgian cut down on unforced errors with a forehand that had at times been his worst enemy and grew to establish a 4-2 lead in his favour.

However, Muguruza, who still had energy to spare, recovered from the blow of wasting a serve at a crucial moment and regained the ‘break’ advantage to establish an equalizer that would be regained in a new break to -a victory would leave him on the tray with a favorable 6-5 and serve.

He was unable to close out the game and Mertens, with renewed morale, began a tiebreaker game with a faster pace that would end up scoring 7-3.

“I think it was a mixture of tension and exhaustion. Physically I noticed a slowdown and he went up” explained the Spaniard in the press room.

The champion of two ‘slams’ could not recover this time, already complained during the contention of the third sleeve of some problems in the right calfand said goodbye to the Margaret Court track by surrendering for the final 6-1.

Muguruza made a total of 48 unforced errors who also covered the high number of this type of error of his rival (40) who will face in the next round the winner of the match between Montenegrin Danka Kovinic and the American Lauren Davis.