Hsieh Su-wei upsets Muguruza, advances to Australian Open 3rd round

Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei on Thursday knocked out third seed Garbiñe Muguruza 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 in heat-wave conditions in the Australian Open second round.

Hsieh, world No. 88, needed almost two hours to claim one of the biggest upsets so far at Melbourne Park, reports Efe.

"I do a little bit better today and try to hang in there. I know the weather is going to be a little bit tough today because I heard the weather is going to be over 39 degrees," Hsieh said.

"I was thinking, 'Ah, I'm from Asia. I maybe can handle it better than other girls,'" she added.

Muguruza, the former world No.1, now ranked third, came to the court with a bandaged thigh after suffering leg cramping, which forced her to withdraw from the Brisbane International and Sydney International tournaments.

The reigning Wimbledon champion ended up losing a tiebreak in the first set that lasted more than an hour.

In the upcoming round, Hsieh is due to play Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a second-round match.

Meanwhile, former world no. 1 Karolina Pliskova qualified for the third round, defeating Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1, 6-1 in just 44 minutes.

The Czech Republic's Pliskova, now ranked sixth, is to face her compatriot Lucie Safarova, who beat the Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-4.

British world No. 9 Johanna Konta was sent home by Bernarda Pera of the United States 4-6, 5-7 in an hour and 40 minutes.

France's eighth seed Caroline Garcia also advanced into the third round after getting past Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 8-6.

--IANS

tri/vm