MADRID, 20 One. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish-Venezuelan tennis player Garbiñe Muguruza said goodbye this Thursday in the second round of the Australian Open, the first ‘Grand Slam’ of the season, after falling clearly by a double 6-3 against the French Alize Cornet, while Roberto Bautista he advanced firmly alongside Pablo Andújar to the third round.
The ‘teacher’ of 2021 saw her aspirations to shine in the ‘big’ in which she was a finalist in 2020 nipped in the bud after not finding her best tennis and always being at the mercy of what her rival wanted to dictate at the Rod Laver Arena , 61 in the world and who had snatched the title from him last year on the grass in Berlin.
The double champion of ‘Grand Slam’ was not fine and never gave the feeling of having options, victim of the aggressiveness of the Frenchwoman to the rest and her erratic day from the bottom of the court. The one from Caracas gave up 12 break balls and hit 33 unforced errors, while she did not have a single opportunity with Cornet’s service, who always took the initiative on the court.
Muguruza already found himself with a break on his first serve, which strengthened his rival in his strategy and in having more security. The Spanish-Venezuelan conceded break options on all her serves in the first set and although she saved a 0-40 lead in the fourth game and two set points in the sixth, she couldn’t avoid losing the set.
The world number three managed to get her first serve of the second set comfortably, but that did not change the scenario as Cornet continued without giving concessions and took advantage of her opportunities again. A break in the fifth game allowed him to take an advantage on the scoreboard that he did not let go of and with his third ‘break’ he eliminated Muguruza.
For its part, there was better news in the men’s draw where Robert Bautista, seeded fifteenth, showed a good level to get rid of the veteran, but always complicated Philippe Kohlschreiber with great authority.
The man from Castellón only invested an hour and a half to beat the German 6-1, 6-0 and 6-3, in a match where he hardly suffered with his serve and was much more solid than his rival, who made up to 44 unforced errors . American server Taylor Fritz will be his test in the third round.
In addition, Pablo Andújar also entered the third round. The man from Cuenca had never made it past his second match in Melbourne and finally did so by defeating Slovakian Alex Molcan in four sets 6-4, 7-6(6), 0-6, 6-1. The Australian Alex de Miñaur will be his obstacle to reach the second round.