Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza tried to look on the bright side of her second-round 6-2, 6-4 defeat on Thursday to unseeded Barbora Strycova in the Birmingham Classic.
“We have a lot of time now to prepare [for Wimbledon]. In a way it’s good,” Muguruza said. “I wish I could play more matches, but nothing really worries me.”
The top seed struggled in windy conditions against the tenacious Czech, who has won their past three encounters on grass.
Muguruza sometimes looked languid in responding to the challenge of a hard-working opponent and occasionally became irritated by the strong winds.
She also let slip a 4-2 second-set lead and was several times passed when she increased her ratio of net attacks.
“I’m going to practice more to get ready for Wimbledon. I’m not going to do anything very different,” Muguruza said.
Muguruza also lost in Birmingham last year, but she played four useful warmup matches against two this time.
Strycova reached the quarter-finals here for a third time and now is to play Lesia Tsurenko, the unseeded Ukrainian, who overcame sixth seed Daria Kasatkina 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
“I like to fight, on and off the court,” Strycova said. “Sometimes you fight and get a reward.”
Earlier, defending champion Petra Kvitova beat Daria Gavrilova, a troublesome opponent in the past, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals.
Gavrilova won their past two matchups being persistent and mobile enough to contain Kvitova’s uncompromising hitting, but the wind pushed and pulled the Australian into errors at important moments.
“The conditions were tough in that wind, but that’s fine. The grass helped me for sure,” Kvitova said. “We hadn’t played each other on this surface before.”
Fourth seed Kvitova next plays Julia Goerges, the world No. 13 from Germany, who beat last year’s runner-up, Ashleigh Barty, 7-6 (8/6), 6-3.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely