In a frosty exchange at the net, Garbine Muguruza told Barbora Krejcikova, “you’re so unprofessional,” after going down to the Czech in the fourth round of the US Open.
After taking a medical time-out at 5-6 in the second set, Krejcikova came out and beat Muguruza 6-3, 7-6 (4).
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Krejcikova, the French Open champion, had romped to a 4-0 lead in the second set. But the Spaniard pulled it back, winning five games on the trot.
Krejcikova survived tense moments on her service game and even saved set points while serving at 4-5 before calling a trainer on the court.
Muguruza and team not happy as Krejcikova slowly goes to her towel while she is ready.#USOpen pic.twitter.com/XSMS2wcdzj
— Tennis GIFs 🎾🎥 (@tennis_gifs) September 6, 2021
At 5-6, the Czech player, who gripped the left side of her stomach and seemed to be breathing heavily, went in for a medical time-out that lasted just over eight minutes.
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As soon as she was back on court, Krejcikova took charge of the points and won seven points on the trot. Muguruza looked visibly frustrated as her opponent took longer between points and once went to towel off even when the Spaniard was ready to serve.
Playing a scratchy tie-break, Muguruza went down 4-7.
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“Listen, I don’t really want to talk about this. It’s…I’ll let you guys judge what you think about this,” Muguruza said during her post-match press conference.
“Well, I think, between players, you know a little bit how to behave in certain moments and, yeah, I wasn’t very happy at the end of the match.”
Krejcikova needed help in walking off the court. #usopen pic.twitter.com/1A1vdIvKrY
— Tennis GIFs 🎾🎥 (@tennis_gifs) September 6, 2021
After declining the post-match interview, Krejcikova was eventually helped off court by the physio and tournament doctor. She will also not appear for her post-match press conference.
Champions knocked out
Three former major champions in the women’s field were eliminated on Sunday. Joining Muguruza were Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber.
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Kerber went down to teenage sensation Leylah Fernandez, who had defeated defending champion Naomi Osaka in the previous round. Fernandez beat Kerber 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 while Elina Svitolina defeated Halep 6-3, 6-3.
Alcaraz makes history
Carlos Alcaraz has become the youngest US Open quarterfinalist in the Open Era after ending the run of qualifier Peter Gojowczyk in five sets.
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Two days after he stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas to become the youngest man to defeat a Top 3 player at the US Open, the 18-year-old secured back-to-back five-set victories for the first time in his career to advance 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0. T
he Spaniard finished with 35 winners – five more than his opponent – and his 45 unforced errors were 39 fewer than the German’s.
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“I’m super excited to be in my first second week in the Grand Slam, so it’s amazing for me. It’s a dream come true,” Alcaraz said.
“It’s really tough to play these kind of matches, to play fifth sets… I hope to play more second weeks, to play more quarter-finals of Grand Slams. I didn’t expect to play quarter-finals here. So I think it’s a really good performance from me in these matches.”
