Muguruza loses crown

ALISON VAN UYTVANCK played the match of her life to dump defending women’s singles champion Garbine Muguruza out of Wimbledon.

The Belgian, ranked 47th in the world, put on a brilliant performance and won 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 in the All England Club twilight.

Muguruza was out of sorts and could not cope with Van Uytvanck’s tremendous hitting as she became the sixth top-10 seed to lose in the opening two rounds of this year’s women’s singles.

Top seed Simona Halep showcased all the hallmarks of a champion-in-waiting as she dispatched China’s Zheng Saisai in a 7-5, 6-0.

Halep, who last month claimed the first Grand Slam title of her career after emerging victorious at Roland Garros, was made to sweat in the opening set of her second- round showdown with the world No 126. Falling 5-3 behind in the first set, the French Open champion looked unsettled as she struggled for consistency.

But she clung on and went on win the next 10 games, locking out her opponent from the contest entirely. It was a mentally mature performance from the 26-year-old, no doubt buoyed by her Paris win.

“It was not easy,” she admitted.“I had pressure little bit of losing that set. But I didn’t panic. I think this was the best thing that I did. I didn’t panic.”

Angelique Kerber similarly survived her own scare after being taken to a third set in her 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Claire Liu.

Ashleigh Barty came out on top in a clash of former junior champions with Eugenie Bouchard. The Australian, who won the girls’ title in 2011, beat the 2012 champion 6-4, 7-5. (© Independent News Service)