U.S. Open live updates: Garbine Muguruza calls extended breaks ‘so unprofessional’

Controversy over the timing of a medical timeout and the use of gamesmanship erupted again at the U.S. Open, this time in the final match on Sunday’s schedule at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

No. 9 seed Garbine Muguruza of Spain labeled No. 8 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic “so unprofessional” as they met at the net after Krejcikova’s 6-3, 7-6 (4) fourth-round victory, which ended at 1:09 a.m. EDT on Monday.

Krejcikova, appearing to be in distress over a problem with a muscle in her midsection, called a medical time out after Muguruza had taken a 4-0 lead. Krejcikova won the next seven points in a row to finish off the match. She also appeared to take a long time between points in walking slowly to the service line before she was due to serve, drawing stares from Muguruza.

The timing of such breaks — and the length of bathroom breaks — has been a topic of discussion throughout the tournament. Andy Murray said he “lost respect” for Stefanos Tsitsipas after Tsitsipas took a lengthy break during their first-round match last Monday.

Muguruza was visibly upset after the match but told reporters she didn’t want to discuss the incident. “I’ll let you guys judge what you think about this,” she said.

“Well, I think between players, you know, a little bit how to behave in certain moments. And, yeah, I wasn’t very happy at the end of the match.”

Garbine Muguruza returns a serve against Barbora Krejcikova during the fourth round of the U.S. Open Sunday in New York.

(Frank Franklin II / Associated Press)

Krejcikova needed help from a trainer to exit the court. She didn’t attend a post-match news conference but released a statement through the Women’s Tennis Assn. early Monday morning.

“I think I started the match really well and was playing good tennis. The key was to start the match well,” said Krejcikova, who had long been known as an outstanding doubles player but has excelled in singles and won the French Open women’s title this year.

“There were a lot of breaks, which was difficult, but I was happy that I won the first set 6-3. Out of nowhere I got the lead 4-0, and then things started to get complicated. Garbine started to raise her level, and I was expecting that. At the end I was really struggling, and I feel really bad right now. I don’t really know what happened, but I couldn’t breathe. I started to feel dizzy and the whole world was shaking. It never happened to me before.

“I just gave my all at the end. It’s tough because it was my first time on such a big court playing the night session and I was really having fun until then.”

Krejcikova will next face No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka in a quarterfinal on Tuesday. “It’s going to be extremely difficult, and I hope I can recover and be ready to play,” Krejcikova said.

Bencic defeats Swiatek

No. 11 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland had to go to a first-set tiebreak but continued her streak of straight-sets wins here with a 7-6 (12), 6-3 victory over No. 7 Iga Swiatek of Poland. Bencic’s quarterfinal opponent will be the winner of Monday afternoon’s match between Shelby Rogers — who upset No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the third round — and 18-year-old Emma Raducanu of Great Britain.