Garbine Muguruza: Hard court queen - just not on big occasions
With her victory at the WTA Tour 500 tournament in Chicago last Sunday, Garbine Muguruza once again showed that she is one of the best players in the world on hard court.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Oct 05, 2021, 12:15 pm

Admittedly, the way to the final of the WTA Tour 500 tournament in Chicago was of manageable difficulty for Garbine Muguruza: After a bye, Muguruza started with a sovereign victory against Ann Li, after which Victoria Azarenka was unable to compete in the round of 16 match. In the round of eight, Muguruza played against Japanese qualifier Mai Hontama and won for sure. And was allowed to take another day off straight away: Because Marketa Vondrousova could not make it to the semi-finals. In the final, Ons Jabeur was finally a really difficult task that Muguruza solved in three sentences.
The 27-year-old has won nine tournaments in her career, and this year she was also successful in Dubai. Like in Chicago on the hard court, of course. Muguruza has won seven titles on this surface, her two largest, however, outside the rebound ace: the French Open in 2016, and Wimbledon a year later.
Muguruza at the Australian Open in the final
Muguruza was able to really convince the two majors on hard court: That was at the beginning of 2020, when she surprisingly lost in the final of the Australian Open against Sofia Kenin. At the beginning of this season, Conchita Martinez's protégé was close to defeating the eventual winner Naomi Osaka in Melbourne, but could not use two match points. The US Open, however, is a mystery that the current number six in the world did not even begin to solve.
Now Garbine Muguruza is due to appear in Indian Wells, she starts in the upper half of the tableau and could meet Angelique Kerber early on. Everything is possible in the confusing women's circus - from a tournament victory to being eliminated on her first appearance either against Ajla Tomljanovic or a qualifier. Indian Wells likes to see itself as the fifth major in tennis. Maybe Muguruza will succeed in winning her second 1000 title after Cincinnati in 2017 in the California desert. And to generate the necessary self-confidence to finally win a Grand Slam tournament on hard court in early 2022.