SAMUEL PETREQUIN
AP Sports Writer
LONDON (AP) — In her first three appearances at Wimbledon, CoCo Vandeweghe lost every time. In her fourth try, she needed 13 match points to finally get a victory at the All England Club.
The 22-year-old American continued her strong recent play on grass by reaching the second round Monday, with a prestige victory over the Spanish player who upset Serena Williams at the French Open.
Vandeweghe, who had lost in the first round over the past three years, defeated Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 and won an eighth consecutive match on a surface she used to loathe after claiming her first WTA title last week in the Netherlands. There, she spent more than 11 hours on court and arrived at Wimbledon worn out but with her confidence boosted.
“It was a tough match and it was crazy at the end,” said Vandeweghe, who had already beaten Muguruza last week. “The toughest part for me was that I played her the week before. I knew she would come out even more fired up because of the recent memory of her loss.”
The 20-year-old Muguruza, the No. 27 seed at Wimbledon, made an impression in Paris where she beat Williams in straight sets before reaching the quarterfinals. But she was too erratic against her American opponent and converted just two of her seven break chances.
Muguruza did not bow out without a fight but cracked on her serve in the final game, hitting consecutive double faults on the last two points.
“There was too many (match points) too count,” said Vandeweghe, a Californian who improved to a career-best 51st in rankings released Monday. “After having all those chances and then losing it to come back, bounce back, and hold, I don’t think, before in my past matches, mentally I would have been able to come back. Because to be honest, coming in here I was a little bit mentally fried.”
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