Garbine Muguruza had a bad day in Birmingham as she lost 6-2 6-4 to Barbora Strycova in the second round of the Nature Valley Classic.
The Spaniard, who reached the semi-final of this event in 2017 and went on to win Wimbledon, played poorly at the start and never fully recovered.
“I thought it was very difficult match,” Muguruza said. “Obviously my level wasn’t at its best. But I think credit to Strycova. I think she played well.”
“I think her style of game suits the surface very well,” the Spaniard continued. “I just want to learn and next time I face her, I want to win.”
Muguruza dropped her serve in the third game of the match and just about held serve in the fifth.
Strycova then held to love to put the pressure on the Spaniard, and the World No.3 crumbled and lost her serve for the second time in the set.
The Czech served it out comfortably to take the set 6-2. She won 16 of the 19 points played on her serve in the opener.
Muguruza had a long discussion with Coach Sam Sumyk in the time between sets, which briefly seemed to revitalise her.
She won the first two games of the set, lapsed to lose the next two, and then again won two in a row to go 4-2 up.
However, the Spaniard soon started making errors again, and ended up losing four consecutive games to ensure Strycova won the set 6-4 and the match in straight sets.
Muguruza remains upbeat
Despite today’s disappointing loss, Muguruza said she is not concerned about her performance. She also said she is “excited” about going back to Wimbledon and attempting to defend her title.
“I wish I could play more matches, but nothing really worries me,” she said. “We have a lot of time now to prepare for Wimbledon, so in a way it’s good.”
The Spaniard continued, “I think Birmingham is a great tournament to prepare. I played three matches here including the doubles and I didn’t feel bad on the grass.”
