MELBOURNE: Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza has accepted a wildcard into next week’s Sydney International, the tournament organisers said on Thursday. Muguruza hopes to step up her preparations for the Australian Open after she was forced to retire with leg cramps during her opening match at the Brisbane International on Tuesday. “I’ve only played in Sydney once before and I really enjoyed the conditions there,” the 24-year-old Spaniard said in a statement. The tournament, which begins at Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday, will feature three of the four current women’s grand slam holders as Muguruza will be joined by US Open champion Sloane Stephens and Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko. The field also includes Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber and Sam Stosur. Published in Daily Times, January 5th 2018.