Rain gone at Wimbledon, but so are Muguruza and co.
Published 8:15 am Friday, July 1, 2016
After two days filled with rain, the sun actually made an appearance at Wimbledon on Thursday, allowing for plenty of play all around the grounds, a chance to finally conclude the first round — and several surprises, the biggest of which was French Open champion Garbine Muguruza’s exit.
No. 2 Muguruza, who reached her first Grand Slam final at the All England Club a year ago and won her first Grand Slam title less than a month ago, was one of 18 seeded players who lost on Day 4, including 11 women.
Admittedly lethargic, and displaying none of the verve or confident shotmaking she’s known for, Muguruza lasted less than an hour in the second round Thursday, beaten 6-3, 6-2 by Slovakia’s Jana Cepelova, a qualifier ranked 124th.
“My energy was not really there,” Muguruza said. “I was trying, but (it) didn’t work at all.”
That same sentiment might have been expressed by some of the other players who joined her on the way out of the tournament, including No. 31 Kristina Mladenovic in a weather-delayed first-round match, and No. 7 Belinda Bencic, No. 14 Sam Stosur, No. 15 Karolina Pliskova, No. 16 Johanna Konta, No. 17 Elina Svitolina, No. 20 Sara Errani, No. 22 Jelena Jankovic, No. 30 Caroline Garcia and No. 32 Andrea Petkovic, all in second-round matches.