Australian Open: Muguruza after defeating Halep in the final
Garbine Muguruza has reached the final of the Australian Open 2020 . The Spaniard defeated Simona Halep 7: 6 (6) and 7: 5. Sofia Kenin had previously defeated local hero Ashleigh Barty with the same result.
by SID
last edit: Jan 30, 2020, 09:24 am
Crowd favorite and local hero Ashleigh Barty missed the final at the Australian Open in scorching heat. The 23-year-old number one in the world rankings was defeated by the aspiring American Sofia Kenin in the first semi-final in Melbourne 6: 7 (6: 8), 5: 7. At temperatures around 39 degrees, in front of 15,000 spectators in the Rod Laver Arena, she struck Kenins second match ball after 1:45 hours, which will move into the top 10 for the first time in the upcoming world rankings.
"I'm so grateful," said Kenin, overwhelmed after the first semi-final match of her career in a Grand Slam. Last year she had already reached the round of 16 at the French Open in Paris. On Saturday (9.30 a.m.CET), she meets Garbine Muguruza (Spain), who in a tough fight over 2:05 hours defeated the previous world ranking fourth Simona Halep (Romania) with 7: 6 (10: 8), 7: 5.
Kenin better at the "big points"
Muguruza seemed to be past its prime. The 26-year-old Spaniard had reached the final in Wimbledon in 2015, won the French Open in 2016 and then in Wimbledon in 2017. Then she fell out of the top 10 in the world rankings, currently she is only number 32. But the commitment of the former world-class player Conchita Martinez as a coach now seems to inspire her. With a triumph in Melbourne, she would move up to position twelve again.
Barty was the more active player in the first semifinals, but could not use two set balls in both sets because the 21-year-old Kenin played more stable at the "big points". After winning the first set, the American lost her early service to 1: 2 in the second set, but at 3: 5, denied Barty two chances to equalize the set, then took the chance to rebreak and also took her opponent's serve to win the match.
Kenin hadn't had to compete against a seeded player until the semi-finals. In the round of 16, she defeated tennis prodigy Cori Gauff in three sets.
Here is the single tableau for women
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