Champion ‘a little bit sad’ to bow out
Garbine Muguruza insisted she wasn’t thinking about attempting to collect a second consecutive Wimbledon championship. She was adamant that she was not focusing on defending her title.
‘‘It doesn’t really matter,’’ she would say, ‘‘what happened in 2017.’’
Well, it seems safe to say she’ll really want to forget what happened at the All England Club in 2018. Muguruza was stunned in the second round 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 by 47th-ranked Alison Van Uytvanck, of Belgium, yesterday, the latest upset in a series of them at the grasscourt major tournament.
‘‘It’s a little bit sad,’’ Muguruza said. ‘‘But today didn’t go my way.’’
That’s become a familiar refrain for prominent women at this topsyturvy Wimbledon.
Only two of the top eight seeded women are still in the field after four days of action.
Van Uytvanck, meanwhile, began this week with a 1-4 record at Wimbledon and only one grand slam quarterfinal appearance to her name. Muguruza owns two major titles, including the 2016 French Open, and was the runner-up at the All England Club in 2015.
But that didn’t matter on this day.
Van Uytvanck was aggressive from the baseline, compiling a 29-18 advantage in winners, and broke in seven of Muguruza’s 13 service games. Still, it was not easy finishing off the most significant victory of her career.
‘‘Inside,’’ the 24-year-old Belgian said, ‘‘I was, like, dying.’’
Third seed Muguruza joined No 2 Caroline Wozniacki, No 4 Sloane Stephens, No 5 Elina Svitolina, No 6 Caroline Garcia and No 8 Petra Kvitova on the way out so far, along with five-time major champion Maria Sharapova. Those departures leave No 1 Simona Halep, the