Spanish third seed Garbine Muguruza has been knocked out of the BNP Paribas Open by world No. 100 Sascha Vickery.
The two-time grand slam champion looked destined for a straight sets victory as she lead the match 6-2, 3-0, before becoming unravelled on the court and losing 6-2, 5-7, 1-6. 22-year-old Vickery staged a triumphant comeback as she by clinching the second set to force the match into a deciding set. The American continued her momentum by breaking two consecutive times in the decider to claim her first ever win over a top 10 player.
“I did a couple mistakes here and there and she took advantage of that,” Muguruza said. “She was raising her level more and more.”
Vickery is the lowest ranked player to defeat Muguruza since Jana Cepelova at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships. Heading into Indian Wells, she had a win-loss record of 9-5 this year. Reaching the semifinals of the ASB Classic as a qualifier. In grand slams, she is yet to progress beyond the second round.
“I was really, really surprised. I really couldn’t believe that I won, especially after being down a set and 3-0. It just all went so quickly, and I was just really shocked and surprised. That’s the best way to describe it.” Vickery said about her triumph.
Despite her loss, Muguruza is drawing positives from it during what has been a roller coaster season. She started the year by winning two matches in three tournaments as she struggled with injury. Then the 24-year-old looked to be back on track with a run to the final of the Qatar Open prior to Indian Wells.
“I just think that I’m going to learn a lot from this match. I’m going to watch it and I’m going to see what went wrong.” She explained.
“I think it’s very important because I felt I was in control and it slipped away a little bit from me. So I will definitely watch it and see exactly what happened.”
In the third round Vickery will take on Japan’s Nasomi Osaka. Osaka dismissed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-2.
Halep marches on
Top seed Simona Halep avoided a shock exit with a 6-4, 6-4, win over Kristyna Pliskova. The world No.1 was tested during stages of the encounter. Dropping serve twice at the start of the match before losing a 3-0 lead in the second set. Still, the Romanian had the edge by converting all six of her break point opportunities and winning 60% of points behind her first serve.
“It felt really well, and I think I played good tennis, even if the previous days I didn’t feel the ball that well. But today was great that I could actually play a few rallies. I got the rhythm back. And I feel good now. I feel more confident.” Said Halep.
Awaiting Halep in the third round will be American underdog Caroline Dolehide, who stunned Dominic Cibulkova 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. The 19-year-old has won three ITF titles so far in her career, but is yet to play in the main draw of a grand slam. Cibulkova is the first top 30 player she has defeated.
Caroline Dolehide on her way into the third round in Indian Wells pic.twitter.com/miY2me86wf
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) 10 March 2018
World No.5 Karolina Pliskova also booked her place in the third round. The Czech came through a tough opening set before brushing aside Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu 7-6(4), 6-1.
