Muguruza, Venus ousted in 4th round at French

PARIS — Garbine Muguruza did not take kindly to the way spectators pulled for her opponent — her French opponent, mind you — at the French Open.

So after her title defense ended with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 loss to 13th-seeded Kristina Mladenovic at a packed and rowdy Court Suzanne Lenglen on a surprise-filled Sunday that left zero past Grand Slam champions in the women’s field, Muguruza walked toward the locker room while wagging a finger toward the stands, as if to say, “Tsk, tsk!”

“The crowd was really tough today,” Muguruza said at a news conference that was halted at one point so she could compose herself after getting choked up.

“Sometimes,” she added, “(fans) should be a little bit more respectful.”

All four of the day’s fourthround matches pitted one woman who has won at least one major trophy (Muguruza, Venus Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Samantha Stosur) against a woman who has not. And each time, the less-accomplished player won. Add it all up, and it means that there will be a first-time major title winner at the end of the tournament.

In men’s action, nine-time champion Rafael Nadal and defending champion Novak Djokovic both won in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals in Paris for the 11th time, equaling Roger Federer’s record for the professional era. Next up: Nadal vs. No. 20 Pablo Carreno Busta, and Djokovic vs. No. 6 Dominic Thiem, with the winners facing off in the semifinals.

Heading into the French Open, many figured the women’s draw was wide open, because of the absences of Williams’ sister, Serena (who is pregnant), and Maria Sharapova (who was denied a wild-card entry that she needed as she comes off a drug suspension).

This was Muguruza’s first attempt at defending a Grand Slam championship, and she ran into a determined Mladenovic, who was backed by a vocal crowd of countrymen who chanted her nickname, Kiki, throughout the match. Mladenovic often played to the fans, waving her arms to ask for more noise.

TENNIS