Muguruza says goodbye to a great version of Cornet

It had been a long time since Garbiñe Muguruza had reached a Grand Slam being one of the main favorites. At the Australian Open she was the third seed and there were high hopes for what she could do in a tournament she likes, in which she was a finalist in 2020 and where last year she fell in the round of 16 despite starring in a great performance against Naomi Osaka, ultimately champion. But this time he ran into an excellent version of Alize Cornet, a tennis player with extraordinary athletic conditions at almost 32 years old and with a ranking (61st) that does not reflect the level of play he showed this Thursday to win by a double 6- 3 in 1h27. “I have felt phenomenal, I have been super concentrated all the time. In two days it’s my birthday, so it will be a gift for me to play the third round”. He will face the winner of the duel between Zidansek and Watson.

Garbiñe’s elimination was more due to the merits of her rival than to the Spanish’s demerits, although it is true that she did not manage to enjoy a single break point throughout the match, something rare in women’s tennis, and had to defend six of her serves out of the many (up to 12) that Cornet accumulated. The player from Nice subtracted everything and with her privileged legs and a brilliant defensive capacity she reached many of the shots, either crossed or parallel, from Muguruza, who this time failed near the net.

The woman from Caracas was warned, since she had lost against Cornet in her last two matches, although in Brisbane 2017 she was unable to finish the match. The great key to the defeat, recognized by herself, was the unforced errors. He committed 33 for “poor shot selection,” as he explained.

tactical failures

“It’s a tough day. Tactically I haven’t made the right decisions against a very solid rival. My tennis has not appeared, “said Garbiñe, who could not find a way to change the game to upset Alize, who has 63 Grand Slams of experience. He leaves sad from an Australian tour in which he has won two games and lost another two. His next challenges: Dubai and Doha, two tournaments that he likes and in which he must try to recover the level he has and the spirit to continue.

Australian Open women’s draw.