Fallen Wimbledon champion Muguruza unhappy with match scheduling on Court 2
>> LONDON: Fallen Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza was unhappy that her second-round match, a three-set defeat, had been scheduled as the last game on Court Two on Thursday.
Muguruza was beaten 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 by little-known Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck in fading light.
The Spaniard shrugged at first when asked about the scheduling and, after a long pause, said: “I was ready to play, that’s it”, as if not wanting to give excuses for her loss.
But she went on to say she had been surprised to see where and when she was due to play.
“I always want to play on the bigger courts, but it’s just how the scheduling works, I can’t say anything now.
“There’s nothing I can do... to say something now makes no sense. It’s just what it is. That’s it. I played my match. It’s a good court, but... of course, bigger courts are nicer.
Muguruza said Van Uytvanck had played well while she was unhappy with her performance.
“She played big, took lots of risks and it worked for her. My level was not where I wanted it to be,” she said.
“She has a very good game for this surface. It was tough for me facing an opponent having a great day, and the match is slipping out of your hands a bit.
“I wasn’t thinking I had to defend anything, I was just thinking of trying to win.”
Meanwhile, Van Uytvanck said she was comfortable coming out as gay, saying “it is not a disease”.
After beating Muguruza, t he 24-year-old Belgian told reporters that she was happy to have come out as gay and talked about her relationship with fellow player Greet Minnen.
“We just decided to not make it personal and not keep it for ourselves. I’m happy,” said Van Uytvanck, the world No.47.
“I just feel like we don’t have to be ashamed of this, and that’s why I also want to be free.
“I’m not sick. I don’t have a disease. But I just feel like it’s good that I could come out as a gay person.”
Van Uytvanck is just one of three openly gay players on the women’s tour.
The others are Sweden’s Johanna Larsson and Richel van Hogenkamp of the Netherlands.