Tired Radwanska upset by Muguruza in Sydney

SYDNEY, Jan 13: A tough playing schedule caught up with world No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska when she was dumped out in the first round of the Sydney Intertiol on Tuesday.

Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, who won last year’s Hobart Intertiol as a qualifier and is currently ranked 24, fought back from dropping the opening set to beat the Polish third seed 3–6, 7–6 (7/4), 6–2.

It is the first tourment Radwanska, coming off Poland’s win in the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth, is playing under new coach and tennis great Marti vratilova.

“(Tired) a little bit, yes, especially that last couple matches was pretty long,” Radwanska said of her recent Hopman Cup campaign.

“Plus the mixed doubles and not much rest and I was playing here the first round. So I think just everything in (a) row. I think she (Muguruza) has really good potential, and I think every day she’s playing really good tennis, better tennis, and definitely the tennis that we going to see much more of in the future.”

Defending champion Tsveta Pironkova won her 13th straight match at the Sydney tourment progressing on an injury retirement into quarter–fils. Pironkova advanced when American youngster Madison Keys was forced to retire from their second–round encounter with a right shoulder injury.

Keys had won the opening set 6–4 but trailed 4–1 in the second before calling it quits.

The Bulgarian continued on her winning way and remained on track to win the trophy as a qualifier for the second successive year.

Spain’s Carla Suarez varro ousted Russian sixth seed Ekateri Makarova 4–6, 6–1, 6–4 to progress to a quarter–fil against the Czech Republic’s Karoli Pliskova.

Pliskova took full advantage of the withdrawal of Romanian top seed Simo Halep to trounce American Nicole Gibbs 6–0, 6–0.

Halep said she was forced out with gastroenteritis she picked up during her tourment win in Shenzhen in Chi last week. IANS