WTA roundup: Muguruza withdraws from San Jose event

[August 02, 2018]  One day after the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic lost its top gate attraction in record time, the tournament's top seed exited without playing a point.

No. 1-seeded Garbine Muguruza withdrew from the San Jose, Calif., tournament Wednesday due to a right arm injury. Last year, when the tournament was held at nearby Stanford University, Muguruza lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Madison Keys.

"I've been feeling some pain in my right arm for a couple of days and realized I am not ready to play the match, so hopefully I can recover for the next tournaments," Muguruza said in a statement. "The facilities in San Jose are very nice, especially the courts. This is a tournament I always play at the start of the US Open Series so I hope to come back and see all my fans next year."

Her exit gave Russia's Anna Blinkova, a lucky loser from qualifying, the first-round bye that Muguruza would have received and a second-match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Azarenka cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory to reach the quarterfinals.

Serena Williams lost by the same 6-1, 6-0 score to Great Britain's Johanna Konta on Tuesday. It was the most one-sided loss of Williams' career.

Konta advanced to the quarters with a 6-1, 6-4 rout of American Sofia Kenin. Also reaching the quarterfinals were fourth-seeded Belgian Elise Mertens and American Danielle Collins.

Spain's Garbine Muguruza reacts during her second round match against Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Citi Open

Second-seeded Sloane Stephens stumbled in the second round at Washington, falling 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 to Germany's Andrea Petkovic.

Looking ahead to the U.S. Open, where she will be defending her first Grand Slam championship, Stephens said, "Hopefully some things connect in the next couple of weeks."

American Jennifer Brady earned a first-round win, topping Russia's Natalia Vikhlyantseva. Poland's Magda Linette, China's Saisai Zheng and Ukrainian qualifier Ysaline Bonaventure also moved into the second round.

--Field Level Media

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