Garbine Muguruza’s nightmare at the US Open has continued after the third seed suffered a 7-5, 6-4, loss to Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova in the second round.
Similar to her opening match against Belgian qualifier Elise Mertens, the French Open champion once again produced an erratic performance consisting of 38 unforced errors. Muguruza started the match well, as she opened up a 4-2 lead, before Sevastova triumphantly battled back to take control of the match and progress to her first third round at a major tournament since returning to the tour from retirement.
Muguruza’s downfall is the third consecutive year that she has failed to go beyond the second round at Flushing Meadows. Addressing her latest disappointment, the 22-year-old did not provide any excuses for her loss.
“I think it was a very tough match. I think I didn’t play well today and I think she also played well. Everything she was doing was kind of working.” The third seed said.
“So at the end she played well, and that’s it.” She added.
Since winning the French Open in June, Muguruza has endured a lackluster journey on the tour and has only been able to reach one semifinal. Candidly speaking, the Spaniard has admitted that she is currently looking for answers as to why she is struggling with her form.
“I’m not playing my best level.” Muguruza declared. “It’s very rare also when you play your best. I’m just trying to look at what else can I do, how to work more and how to find more resources.”
Regardless of Muguruza’s concerns, it takes nothing away from former top 40 player Sevastova. The Latvian ended her retirement on the ITF tour in January 2015 after missing almost two years due to a combination of illness and injury. This year she has already reached two finals on the WTA Tour.
“It’s a good feeling. I can enjoy it today, but tomorrow is a new day.” The world No.48 said about her triumph. “There are other matches. Nobody thinks about their previous match. You have to think forward.”
In the third round Sevastova will play Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko.
