Garbine Muguruza stunned by Su-Wei Hsieh while Simona Halep breezes past Eugenie Bouchard

Australian Open 2018: 32-year-old Hsieh had previously managed only two wins over top 20 players in her 17 years as a professional, but still managed to dump out Muguruza

The reigning Wimbledon champion is out of the Australian Open (Getty)

Johanna Konta will know exactly how Garbine Muguruza is feeling – and not just because both women are both out of the Australian Open. Eight months after Konta was sent packing from the French Open by Su-Wei Hsieh’s bewitching combination of unorthodox double-handed strokes and clever spin, Muguruza suffered the same fate here.

The world No 3, who had been in with a chance of returning to the top of the world rankings at the end of the tournament, was beaten 7-6, 6-4 as Hsieh outwitted and outmanoeuvred the Wimbledon champion. The 32-year-old Taiwanese had previously managed only two wins over top 20 players in her 17 years as a professional.

Muguruza, making her earliest exit from the tournament for five years, had her right thigh strapped and received treatment for a blister on her foot. However, the Spaniard, who made 43 unforced errors, refused to use either her own physical condition or the near-40C heat as an excuse. Instead she gave credit to Hsieh, calling the world No 88 “a very tricky opponent”.

Hsieh said she had tried to be aggressive in order to counter Muguruza’s heavy ball-striking. “It's never easy to play against top 20 girls,” she said. “I think for sure they are much better than us mentally, so when we go on the court we forget who they are and focus on our game.

“I knew the weather was going to be a little bit tough today because I heard the temperature was going to be over 39 degrees. I was thinking: ‘Ah, I'm from Asia. I maybe can handle it better than other girls’.”

Asked about the variety in her game, Hsieh said: “I do the topspin, the flat balls and slice. I try to practise all the stuff. So against different players, I try to do a little bit different stuff. I don’t try to play the same game.”

Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber, champions here in 2008 and 2016, will meet in a heavyweight contest in the third round on Saturday after winning their matches in convincing fashion.

Sharapova, playing at the tournament for the first time since failing a drugs test here two years ago which led to her 15-month ban, beat Anastasija Sevastova 6-1, 7-6, having lost to the Latvian at last year’s US Open.

Kerber celebrated her 30th birthday with a crushing 6-4, 6-1 victory over Donna Vekic. The German is unbeaten this year after winning last week at the Sydney International, where she ended her run of 27 tournaments without a title.

Simona Halep, the world No 1, enjoyed a quickfire 6-2, 6-2 victory over Eugenie Bouchard, who held serve only once in the match. Bouchard, who beat Halep in the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2014, lasted only 65 minutes.

Halep, the top seed, did not appear to be troubled by the ankle injury which she had suffered in her opening match but said afterwards that she was still feeling pain in the ankle and had been unable to practise much.

Bouchard was sent packing by top-seed Halep (Getty)

“During the match, I just forgot about it,” she said. “I had a very tight tape. I could move. The most important thing is that I could play my game without thinking about the ankle.

“At the beginning it was a little more difficult because I was not sure how it was going to be, but after a few games, I just said that I had to be confident in my leg - and everything went pretty well.

“I played much better than I expected because of the foot. My game was really solid today. I hit the ball very well. The return was also pretty strong. I think everything went really well for me tonight. I played one of my best games.”

Ashleigh Barty was grateful for the support of a vocal home crowd in Rod Laver Arena as the Australian No 1 fought back from a set down to beat Italy’s Camila Giorgi. Barty, who won 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, will next face Japan's Naomi Osaka.