Garbiñe Muguruza bows out at Australian Open

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The surprises started early at the Australian Open on Day 4, with No. 3 Garbiñe Muguruza becoming the highest-seeded player to exit the women's draw just minutes after No. 6 Anett Kontaveit lost.

Not long after, No. 2-seeded Aryna Sabalenka served a dozen double-faults in the first set and appeared to be on the brink of a second-round defeat before recovering to hold off 100th-ranked Wang Xinyu 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Muguruza never managed to earn a single break point and made a whopping 33 unforced errors, more than twice her opponent's total, in a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Alize Cornet under a bright blue and cloudless sky at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday.

"A little bit surprised about my level. I am a little disappointed, too," said Muguruza, who won the season-ending WTA Finals in 2021. "I feel like my shots weren’t as accurate and precise. I feel, also, my aggressive game wasn’t that aggressive today."

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Garbine Muguruza of Spain rests in her chair in a break during her second round match Alize Cornet of France at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)

Here's how unexpected that result was: Muguruza is a two-time Grand Slam champion and a two-time major runner-up, too, including making it to the final at the Australian Open in 2020.

And the 61st-ranked Cornet? She's appearing in her 63rd career major tournament — and 60th in a row — but never has been beyond the fourth round.

Cornet will get a chance to equal that showing when she plays Saturday, her 32nd birthday.

She called herself "a little bit (of) a dinosaur."

"I don't know