Muguruza beats Stosur in 1st round at Brisbane International
BRISBANE, Australia — French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza finished off a first-round match for the first time at the Brisbane International, and extended Sam Stosur’s unhappy run in the process with a 7-5, 6-7 (2), 7-5 win on Monday.
The fourth-seeded Muguruza saved three set points in the first and rallied from a break down in the third to finish off in 2 hours, 45 minutes on a humid afternoon. In two previous trips to the season-opening tournament, Muguruza struggled with injuries and hadn’t completed a match.
Article continues after this advertisement“It was a battle,” Muguruza said. Stosur “played very well today. She served like a beast. It took three hours for that battle to see what happens in the end.”
Muguruza beat Stosur in the French Open semifinals last year and went on to beat then No. 1-ranked Serena Williams in the final to claim her first major title.
The loss extended a slump for Stosur, the 32-year-old Australian who hasn’t won a competitive singles match since the first round of the U.S. Open in September and hasn’t advanced past the second round at her home tournament in Queensland state.
Article continues after this advertisementNo. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 6 Elina Svitolina and No. 8 Roberta Vinci were among the women’s seeds advancing Monday.
Svitolina, the only player to beat both Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber in 2016, opened with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Olympic champion Monica Puig.
Kuznetsova beat American Louisa Chirico 6-2 6-4 and Vinci was pushed all the way in a 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5) win over qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko.
American qualifier Asia Mohammed advanced with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 win over Donna Vekic, and Zhang Shuai of China beat Laura Siegemund 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3.
In the men’s draw, another of Australia’s local hopes went out in the first round with No. 8-seeded David Ferrer beating error-prone Bernard Tomic 6-3, 7-5.
Nicolas Mahut advanced to the second round with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over fellow Frenchman Stephane Robert and Kyle Edmond held off American qualifier Ernesto Escobedo 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6).
In a late match interrupted by thunderstorms, seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov needed three match points before beating Steve Johnson 6-2, 6-3 on center court. Play on outside courts was postponed to Tuesday. –John Pye /ATM