Kerber crashes out and loses hold on World No. 1 ranking after 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Spain's Muguruza
Germany's Angelique Kerber wears a dejected look during her Round 4 match against Spain's Garbine Muguruza yesterday. Pic/AFP
German top seed Angelique Kerber bowed out of Wimbledon and will lose her World No. 1 status after a fourth-round defeat to Garbine Muguruza.
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In a gripping clash on Court Two, Muguruza clinched a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory to set up a quarter-final against Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Kerber and Muguruza have a shared experience of being beaten in the Wimbledon final by Serena Williams. Muguruza lost to the American in the 2015 title match, and Kerber fell to Williams last year. Romanian Simona Halep will become number one in the world if she reaches the semi-final stage. Should Halep not advance so far, Karolina Pliskova will become the new rankings leader. Kerber had struggled through to the last 16, surviving a major third-round scare against American Shelby Rogers who pushed her hard in three tough sets.
Spain's Garbine Muguruza
She needed to reach the final to cling to the top ranking, but it was going to take more than sheer grit to see off Muguruza. Left-hander Kerber rose to the occasion by playing her sharpest tennis of the tournament in the first set but lost the second. After the pair traded breaks in the decider, with Kerber nudging ahead before being drawn back.
Kerber saved a pair of match points at 15-40 but cracked a backhand into the net from a crouching position when a third chance arrived for her opponent to clinch the match.
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