Muguruza disaster | The mail

It was the tournament for Garbiñe Muguruza to return to the path of victory in the Grand Slams, but she hit a blow. Eliminated in the second round and against a low-profile player like Alize Cornet (number 61 in the world) who, yes, had one of the best matches of her career. Not surprisingly, this was her first victory against a top three since Madrid 2015. The Frenchwoman, in less than an hour and a half, kicked the Spanish out of the tournament by a double 6-3 and extended Muguruza’s curse in Melbourne, where she has only reached the quarterfinals twice (2017 and 2020).

It was not one of the best days for the Spaniard, who made 33 unforced errors, twice as many as her rival, and who was very insecure on serve. She yielded it three times, but she conceded up to twelve break balls while she could not generate one against the French tennis player. Cornet had beaten her in their last meeting, on the grass of Berlin last season, but this time it was very different, as if the favorite in the Rod Laver Arena was the French. With an exuberant level of confidence, she pushed Muguruza aside and ends the positive inertia she achieved two months ago in the Masters Cup. The Grand Slams are still listed as Muguruza’s pending issue, who has not won one since 2017 and since then has only reached one final, on this same stage in 2020.

Without Muguruza, the women’s draw has two Spaniards left: Paula Badosa, who just won Sydney last week, and Nuria Parrizas, who for the first time in her career is in the third round in Melbourne.

Bautista and Andújar, to the next round

Roberto Bautista only dropped four games in his climb in the tournament and beat Philipp Kohlschreiber (6-1, 6-1, 6-3) in just an hour and a half of play. The man from Castellón stands for the sixth time in the third round and will seek the second week against the American Taylor Fritz, seeded number 20 and who has faced the Spaniard six times. Bautista comfortably dominates head-to-head with five wins to a single loss, which occurred in 2019 on clay.

Pablo Andújar also surpassed his second-round duel, who beat Slovakian Alex Molcan 6-4, 7-6 (6), 0-6, 6-1. It is the first time that the man from Cuenca has won two games in a row at Melbourne Park and has earned the right to fight to get into the round of 16 against a touchstone. He will play against the local Alex de Miñaur, who has beaten him in their last previous confrontation. Andújar beat him four years ago in a Challenger in Alicante.

The one who had it very complicated and could not surprise was Alejandro Davidovich, who fell in an exceptional battle against Felix Auger-Aliassime (7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5) and 7 -6 (4)). The Canadian needed almost four and a half hours to bow Davidovich and leave the Spaniard without what would have been his third appearance in a third round of a Grand Slam.