Kerber out of Wimbledon, loses top ranking

London (Reuters): Top seed Angelique Kerber was dumped out of the last-16 of Wimbledon by Garbine Muguruza on Monday, as the world number one’s woeful run against top-ranked opposition continued.

Muguruza’s 4-6 6-4 6-4 victory marked the ninth consecutive time Kerber has failed to beat a top-20 opponent. She last achieved that feat in 2016.

Monday’s match was always destined to be a close affair, pitting 2016 runner-up Kerber against her 2015 equivalent, and so it proved with the pair sharing the first two sets.

There was little to separate the two for much of the decider until Spaniard Muguruza nosed ahead, taking the initiative with the braver hitting as the set progressed.

She earned two match points in the 10th game of the set, which Kerber saved, before sealing it on her third when the German slapped a backhand into the net.

Muguruza will next face Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova after the seventh seed beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2 6-4 in their last-16 clash.