Muguruza: Crowd lacked respect
emotional Garbine Muguruza blasted the French Open crowd for being disrespectful after the defending champion lost to home hope Kristina Mladenovic in the last 16 yesterday.
The Spaniard departed Court Suzanne Lenglen wagging her finger as the crowd were asked to applaud Muguruza following her 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 defeat.
“I think the audience was really tough today. I can’t really understand. I don’t know how to explain,” said Mugu- ruza, whose post-match press conference was briefly interrupted when she broke down in tears and left the room before quickly returning. “If you had been in my shoes on the court, I think you would have understood. I don’t know what people were expecting. I’d rather not say anything more.” Mladenovic thrived on the partisan support from the home faithful as the 13th seed ensured the host nation will have two women in the quarterfinals for the first time in 23 years. But Muguruza said should she felt the crowd lacked respect at times. “I just think that they were a little bit, sometimes should be a little bit more respectful. The chair umpire has to always calm The Spaniard broke down in tears after her Roland Garros title defence ended in a fourth round 6-1 3-6 6-3 defeat by Mladenovic. “To the French crowd, pathetic, no class!” Sam Sumyk, the French coach of Muguruza, said on Twitter. Mladenovic, who lost the Stuttgart final against German Laura Siegemund in what she described as “extremely tough” conditions, said the support of the home crowd can be a double-edged sword. “They are excited, the atmosphere was just amazing, it’s not easy to handle for the both of us. It’s a lot of pressure, even for me,” the 24year-old told a news conference. “It’s not easy to control the nerves and the pressure.” French players have often crumbled under the pressure of playing a grand slam at home but Mladenovic seems to feed off the crowd. “It’s part of the sport, it’s amazing to the crowd down.”
But she added: “I’m not here to create enemies. I mean, I love playing here.”
Asked whether she could hear Mladenovic yelling “forza” (come on) on her unforced errors, Muguruza replied: “No, I think she speaks like 25 languages, I heard.”
Muguruza’s defeat means Justine Henin, who won the title in 2003 and then from 2005 to 2007, remains the last woman to successfully defend her crown at Roland Garros.
“It was a disputed match. I lost confidence, and my opponent of course was on home turf, so it created a lot of tension.
“So of course I’m sad. It’s a very painful defeat here in the French Open.” – AFP