Garbine Muguruza was the first player to book her place in the semifinals of the French Open with a straight sets victory over Shelby Rogers today. The American might not be a big name, she might be someone you never heard of until this week, but this victory was not just your average run-of-the mill win, it was a champion-esque triumph for the Spaniard that signals that this French Open might just be hers.
Garbine Muguruza may Win the French Open
Muguruza did not play outstanding tennis, in fact she was down in the opening set 5-4 against an in-form Rogers who had defeated Petra Kvitova among others. The fourth seed was being outplayed, but she did what every Champion does, and that is find a way back. Muguruza clawed back the break and went on to take the set 7-5 by imposing her will on Rogers. She then went on to win the second set 6-3, but this also did not come easy. Muguruza was forced to work, she was forced to fight, and she did both successfully. It was a different victory from the one against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the previous round. On that day the 22-year-old outplayed the Russian for a straight sets victory, a win that sent out a statement to the rest of the field.
It is now looking like the Spaniard may go all the way to the title. She was blessed with being drawn in the bottom half, which means she will not meet Serena Williams until the final. As the seeds collapsed around her, Muguruza remained strong and has powered her way through to the last four, one win away from her second Grand Slam final. Sam Stosur is the obstacle standing in front of her, and that also is not an easy task. The Aussie is a former finalist here and is in good form. Stosur’s heavy top spin makes her game extra effective on the high bouncing clay and she holds a victory over Muguruza in their only meeting.
That said match came two years a go in Madrid, and the World #4 has come on leaps and bounds ever since. She made her breakthrough by not only beating Serena, but inflicting her worst Grand Slam defeat ever with a 6-2, 6-2 crushing at Roland Garros in 2014. The following year Muguruza went on to make the final of Wimbledon and achieve a career high ranking of #3. In short, this is a different player to the one Stosur beat previously.
Should the Spaniard make the final, she will most likely play the World #1 for the title. It is a match-up she might fear, but she shouldn’t. It was the fearlessness of her tennis that allowed her to defeat Williams at this very tournament in 2014. Muguruza knows she has what it takes game-wise to defeat Serena, but she will have to be mentally prepared. Many players have lost a Grand Slam final before finally winning one (not everyone is like Stan Wawrinka), and the Spanish #1 will draw on that experience to help her should she face the same situation again.
This potential final will be a surface that suits her game more and Serena’s less. Grass is undoubtedly a much more favourable surface for the World #1, and whilst Muguruza may have made the Wimbledon final last year, she is a stronger clay courter than grass courter.
She claims that clay is ‘my territory’ and a winning the French Open will go a long way to proving that. It will not be easy, it will not be given, and quite frankly she is still the second favourite by a long way behind Serena. But the Champion qualities shown by Muguruza during this tournament can not be denied, and this is a good of a chance as any to claim her first Grand Slam title.
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