Garbine Muguruza earned a sudden pass to the semifinals at the AEGON Classic Friday. The sixth seed was in a heavy battle with Coco Vandeweghe when the American suddenly called it quits on Ann Jones Center Court to give the Spaniard a 4-6, 6-4 30-0 win at Edgbaston Priory Tennis Club. A left ankle injury began to trouble the 25-year-old taking concern to not make it worse.
Vandeweghe had a 3-1 lead over the Spaniard that included a win at this year’s Australian Open quarterfinal. It was a complete dominance from the American that helped her shut down Muguruza in the second set. She had her leveled on wins on the hard court but when it came to grass, the 25-year-old had her Spanish opponent beat. While both grass court wins occurred three years ago, it was possible that she could hold on to that or face a different player with her strengths increased as she proved Thursday against Alison Riske.
The two opened with service holds but in the third, Vandeweghe was first to break ahead of the Spaniard. She opened a 3-1 lead on the sixth seed but an issue with her foot caused her to lose all the ground she built up on Muguruza. By the sixth, they were in a dead die before the American got the lead back. During the first available break, Vandeweghe took a medical timeout to have her foot bandaged and tight to keep on the track of her game.
Muguruza leveled on service but the American once again showed her strengths and got out front to lead 5-4 with a chance at the set. She received a couple chances with errors occurring from Muguruza’s end. The world number 14 rallied to deuce but failed to defend the advantage. It was quickly swept up by Vandeweghe who kept the forehand at top notch to win the tenth and take the set in 52 minutes. She had 16 winners that clearly assisted in her success but knew that more had to be done for more positive results.
The second serve was struggling to start the second set leading to Muguruza’s break in the third. The fourth saw another problem with Vandeweghe’s foot as she took a fall from her toe that caused the overall pain. It gave the Spaniard her first sizable lead so far hoping to hold off the American going further. Vandeweghe answered with a lot of effort on her end to get a win on serve and an ace during her time gave put her a game down but still feeling the pain in her left ankle.
The issue took a toll on her game that allowed Muguruza to dictate the next two games within reach of the set. As she served in the eighth, Vandeweghe did everything to put together a sizable defense that helped her win the break and delay the inevitable. Her strengths earned her a second straight game but the serve was back in Muguruza’s hands to end the set for herself. Facing adversity, the sixth seed fought through the returns of her opponent and got the set point on her second attempt ending 38 minutes.
In a surprise start to the third, Vandeweghe played two points before calling it quits due to her decision to stop playing on the foot and recover before Wimbledon. While she didn’t win in straight sets the number six seed would take the time left in the day to rest before Saturday’s semifinal facing the winner between Ashleigh Barty and Camila Giorgi.
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