(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Spain's world number three Garbine Muguruza was forced out of the Sydney International with an injury following her win over Kiki Bertens yesterday.
A week after retiring from the Brisbane International with cramps, leading Australian Open contender Muguruza had an early medical timeout for a thigh injury before beating Bertens 6-3, 7-6 (8/6).
But the win came at a cost. The Wimbledon champion later announced she would be pulling out of the tournament, handing Australian Daria Gavrilova direct passage to the semi-finals.
Muguruza's decision comes less than a week out from the Australian Open in Melbourne.
'I am disappointed but I have talked to the WTA doctors and my team after the match today and following their recommendation, I have to withdraw from the tournament, Muguruza said.
'I have felt pain in my right adductor since I started practising here.
'Yesterday I felt better and wanted to play. However, during the match today the pain has been there all the time but I wanted to compete.
Muguruza was leading 2-1 in the opening set when she sought a medical time-out.
She showed few ill-effects upon her return to the court, reeling off six of the next eight games to take a commanding lead against the 32nd-ranked Dutchwoman.
The Spanish top seed claimed the first set before needing a tiebreaker to see off her opponent.
Gavrilova downed Samantha Stosur in their all-Australian second round night match 6-4, 6-2 and will benefit from Muguruza's setback to advance to the last four.
Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska reached her fifth Sydney quarter-final with a straight-sets win over American qualifier Catherine Bellis 7-6 (7/4), 6-0.
Radwanska will play Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi, who eliminated two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 7-6 (9/7), 6-2.
In the men's event, Spanish top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas was knocked out by Italy's Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 7-5. The Spanish world number 22 needed treatment for a leg problem early in the second set but continued playing, without success, as Lorenzi moved into the quarter-finals.
Top seed Jack Sock rejected suggestions he may not have been trying as he crashed out of the ATP Auckland Classic yesterday to unheralded German Peter Gojowczyk.
The American made a strong start with an early service break but then folded as Gojowczyk took control to beat the world number eight 6-3, 6-3 in just over an hour.
Sock's fellow American seeded players Sam Querrey and John Isner also exited in the second round but put up more of a fight.
Third-seed Querrey lost a marathon battle to Czech Jiri Vesely 6-4, 6-7 (10/12), 7-6 (7/5) while fourth-seed Isner fell to 21-year-old Korean Chung Hyeon 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-2.
Defending champion Sock had a bye in the first round and dismissed his lack of form by saying he was 'rusty and claimed he had tried his best against the German despite some odd shot selections.
'It's my first match of the year, I don't know what you guys expect of me, he said when questioned about his approach to the game.
While it was Sock's first ATP tournament of 2018, he did play in the Hopman Cup last week where he was narrowly beaten by Roger Federer 7-6, 7-5.
Sock said credit also had to go to Gojowczyk who is ranked 65 in the world.
'I was up a break in the first set, you guys act like I lost 6-0 6-0, the 25-year-old American said.
'The guy hit some unbelievable returns, he was painting lines all over the place, slapping balls coming in... It was a rusty first match, but you've got to get the cobwebs off, the ball didn't feel as good as it has in the past.
Second seed Juan Martin del Potro had no trouble disposing of rising Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 6-4.
Fifth seed and 2016 champion Roberto Bautista Agut came from a set down to beat Steve Johnson 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, while four-time champion David Ferrer was untroubled in his 6-2, 6-2 win over Joao Sousa.
In the quarter-finals, Vesely plays Bautista Agut, Gojowczyk faces Robin Haase, Ferrer plays Chung and del Potro clashes with Karen Khachanov.
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