PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 01: Garbine Muguruzu of Spain hits a backhand during the Ladies Singles quarter final against Shelby Rogers of the United States on day eleven of the 2016 French Open at Roland Garros on June 1, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images)
Garbine Muguruza is out of the 2018 Australian Open.
The 24-year-old Venezuelan-born Spaniard lost to Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei — the World No. 88 — in straight sets (6-7, 4-6) in Thursday’s second-round match.
Muguruza, the World No. 3 who won Wimbledon in 2017 and the French Open in 2016, struggled with the hot weather in Melbourne and received treatment on her left foot in the opening set. (Temperatures had reached a scorching 40 Celsius, or 104 Fahrenheit earlier in the day.) Muguruza had 43 unforced errors in the match, which she began with strapping on her foot.
Hsieh, 32, will next face 26th seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round.
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Meanwhile, top seed Simona Halep defeated Eugenie Bouchard 6-2, 6-2 in a match that lasted an hour and seven minutes and was marred by rain.
The 26-year-old Romanian Halep was seeking her first Grand Slam title. She twisted her ankle in a first-round victory over Destanee Aiava.
“I feel pain but I didn’t think about it. I just wanted to play the match,” said the two-time Melbourne quarter-finalist, who faces unseeded American Lauren Davis in the third round on Saturday.
Canadian youngster Bouchard, the Wimbledon 2014 runner-up, is now ranked 112 and only held her serve once.
Also advancing on Thursday was five-time major winner Maria Sharapova. The 30-year-old Russian star defeated No. 14-seeded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova 6-1, 7-6 (4).
“It’s a warm day. I did my job in two sets against someone that’s been troubling in the past for me” said Sharapova, who missed last year’s tournament in Melbourne while serving a 15-month doping ban. “So, third round of the Australian Open, I don’t know, I think I deserve to smile out there after that victory.”
Sharapova was suspended after testing positive for meldonium, a banned heart drug, at the 2016 Australian Open. She made her return to competitive tennis at last year’s US Open.
Also eliminated from the 2018 Australian Open after less than one week of play are Venus Williams and another American, 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 01: Garbine Muguruzu of Spain hits a backhand during the Ladies Singles quarter final against Shelby Rogers of the United States on day eleven of the 2016 French Open at Roland Garros on June 1, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images)
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