Garbine Muguruza’s body gave out on her too soon at the Brisbane International Tuesday. The number one seed had a strong fight on her hands against Alexandra Krunic but a cramp issue that grew painful and painful for her to retire giving the Serbian the 5-7,7-6(3), 1-2 win at Pat Rafter Arena on the grounds on the Queensland Tennis Centre.
The number one seed got into her first match meeting against the Serbian for the first time. The world number two knew of her clash to fight to regain the number one spot was now in play for herself and others. Despite being on a two-match losing streak from the WTA Finals, the Spaniard looked to get into the groove of the first tournament of the year and make good against the 24-year-old.
She opened service with a win followed by Krunic’s answer on the serve. When the third got into play, the young Serb broke Muguruza showing early signs of taking control. The 24-year-old opened the gap, consolidating another service hold that put the Spaniard in a hole. She ended Krunic’s winning streak with a two-point lead in the fifth with the ball in hand for the sixth.
Muguruza got the win to hold but Krunic once again moved out ahead securing a break. It sent Muguruza’s coach Sam Sumyk out to give her a few words during the break. They worked out in the eighth as she brought together a break to level the score hoping to try and dictate the tail end of the set. For the first time, she got within a game with an error that closed the ninth sending coach Elise Tamaela out to keep her composed. A good set of tricks helped frustrate the Spaniard to keep her in the set.
Muguruza held serve in the 11th but knew that capturing the set wasn’t going to be easy. She watched as Krunic got technical with her shots on serve that at times beat the Spaniard. A mistake took the two to deuce where after ten long breaks and seven break point attempts from the world number two, she got the victory that capped the game at 16 minutes and the set at an hour. The Serb did indeed force the Spaniard to commit a dozen errors but her own during critical points was her downfall finishing the set with 16.
The problems of the first were immediately settled by Muguruza who looked good in her first two games. It didn’t come as a surprise for the fans to see the 24-year-old rally back from the short deficit to level with the number one seed. A much-needed service hold was essential as the fifth game saw them both fight for control of the game point. Muguruza won it on a long ball from Krunic before calling for Sumyk during the break. She mentioned struggling physically but her coach kept her confidence level to bring it home.
She broke Krunic again to regain the two-game buffer controlling her aggression in the process. It was the key to Muguruza’s success as she opened to three games on the Serb sitting just a game down from ending the match with pressure weighing heavily on her opponent. She handled the stress of serving to the world number two very well winning easy points on Muguruza’s errors to cap the eighth to her name. The challenge came to her playing with the Spaniard serving for the match where Muguruza began landing her shots where she wanted.
Two double faults followed suit giving Krunic the lead in the ninth where a break came into play on a missed volley shot. She stayed alive getting the win on a long ball from Muguruza who was in danger of going another long route with the 24-year-old. The comeback was completed as the world number 53 put her serve to aggression, breaking down Muguruza to win the game and force the set deeper.
The Spaniard dug in deep in the 11th to win it despite putting a lot of energy to do so. I was her first win in four decisions with the notion that just one more would end her woes on court. Krunic denied her of an easy break and rallied to a serve to love that sent both to a tiebreak. Krunic was on a mission to get a set win under her belt, doing so with a boost to a 4-2 lead. She kept on the gas against Muguruza reaching set point to end the set and push the number one seed to the distance. It took one hour and three minutes with Muguruza recording 19 unforced errors and five double faults.
During the break, the physiotherapist was called for the Spaniard who needed to have her right foot taped up. It required a medical timeout for Muguruza who was taken care of on court before starting the third set. It got underway with Muguruza once again taking two games in a row before Krunic ended the winning streak. During the sit down, she complained to Sumyk about cramping in both her calves and having the same come to her right hand.
The fourth game was a sign of real concern between points as Muguruza fell down writhing in pain from a major cramp occurring. Krunic looked on as the Spaniard lay flat before she got up on her feet. The doctor made the decision to have her legs examined and retire from the tournament for a third time.
With the Serb getting the pass to the quarterfinals, she’ll await the winner between Anastasija Sevastova and Sorana Cirstea.
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