GARBINE MUGURUZA was a shocking second-round casualty at the U.S. Open tennis tournament Wednesday.

    The world’s third-ranked player and French Open champion was upstaged by Anastasija Sevastova in straight sets in Flushing Meadows, a second consecutive disappointment in a Grand Slam event. Muguruza suffered a second-round exit from Wimbledon.

    Muguruza’s poor play was marked by 38 unforced errors in the 7-5, 6-4 loss.

    The Spaniard led 4-2 during the first set against Sevastova and served for it in the 10th game, only to drop three straight. Sevastova went up 4-0 in the second before nerves kicked in, then broke Muguruza’s serve to seal victory and a third-round meeting with Kateryna Bondarenko.

    No. 2 seed Angelique Kerber advanced to the next round.

    The Australian Open champion and Rio Olympics silver medalist defeated Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) in the second round.

    Kerber appeared on course for a dominant victory at Louis Armstrong Stadium, having outplayed her opponent to move into a 6-2, 4-1 lead in hot New York conditions. But the German suffered an uncharacteristic slump to allow Lucic-Baroni — whose own erratic performance was highlighted by 37 winners and 55 unforced errors — back into the match to force a decider.

    Kerber regained her composure, though, and booked her place in the third round in a time of 1 hour, 32 minutes.

    Fellow seeds Roberta Vinci, Madison Keys, Petra Kvitova, Elina Svitolina and Belinda Bencic also emerged from round 2.

    No. 7 Vinci saw off Christina McHale 6-1, 6-3, while eighth-seeded Keys crushed Kayla Day 6-1, 6-1. Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, overcame Cagla Buyukakcay 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, Svitolina outlasted Lauren Davis 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 and Bencic trumped Andrea Petkovic 6-3, 6-2.

    It has been a testing year for former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, as poor form and injuries have seen her plummet down the rankings to 74.

    A second-round encounter against ninth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova appeared a daunting task, and at 4-0 down in the first set, the situation was bleak for Wozniacki. However, the Dane battled back for a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

    Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal became the first match winner with the roof closed.

    The fourth-seeded Spaniard defeated Andreas Seppi 6-0, 7-5, 6-1 to advance to the third round, where he will take on Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia.

    Nadal’s victory came after the new, US$150 million roof in Arthur Ashe Stadium was closed with the score 3-3 in the second set.(SD-Agencies)