Muguruza Edged by Putintseva in Rome Opening

Garbiñe Muguruza, the Spanish tennis star, bowed out in her opening match at the Rome Masters 1000, losing to Yulia Putintseva in a three-set battle that kept the Foro Italico crowd on edge. The final score read 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1 in favor of the Kazakh, who delivered a strong comeback after an unsettled start to the season. Muguruza had been hoping to turn around a rough run of results, coming off early exits in Madrid and Indian Wells, and she entered this match as the tenth-ranked player in the world while Putintseva sat higher at number forty, a position that did not reflect the momentum she showed as the match unfolded.