‘It was hard for me’ – Garbine Muguruza blames shock Australian Open exit on Covid

Garbine Muguruza crashed out of the Australian Open in the second round, but claimed a Covid outbreak had hampered her chances.

Muguruza was the third seed in the women’s draw and was heavily fancied after winning the WTA Finals at the end of last season.

She was some way short of her best tennis on Rod Laver, though, with veteran French ace Alize Cornet dominating in a 6-3, 6-3 win.

However, reflecting on her defeat, Muguruza said her preparations had been hit hard by her team contracting Covid before the tournament.

“It’s been a pretty stressful start of the year also with my team,” Muguruza told the press.

“They all got Covid before coming here. We were, like, for 15 days apart.

“It was hard for me for the preparation to come to the Aussie swing and play and perform well. That was tricky a little bit. Physically here I wasn’t also feeling my best.

“It’s a tricky part of the year also. The pre-season, the start of the season, you are doing the last touches. You kind of want to continue working. That threw me a little bit off,” she said.

“Although I had time here to prepare and everything, yeah, I think the combination of everything I think didn’t help me.”

Alize Cornet will now face Tamara Zidanšek in the third round of the Australian Open.