Garbiñe Muguruza became a giant in Guadalajara (Mexico) to lift the title of the WTA Finals for the first time for Spanish women’s tennis. Manolo Orantes (1976) and Alex Corretja (1998) had conquered it in the male version. Another barrier has fallen. The 28-year-old tennis player, precisely 28 years after Arantxa Sánchez Vicario lost to Steffi Graf at Madison Square Garden of New York the only final disputed by a Spanish, He did not miss his great opportunity against Anett Kontaveit: 6-3 and 7-5 in 1h: 38.
The 50th edition of the Women’s Masters, the first in Latin America due to circumstances of a pandemic that keeps China ‘closed’, It was for a huge tennis player who found her point of maturity in a magical week, sheltered by an audience that adopted her to carry it on the fly day after day. “I don’t know what Mexico has that excites me!” He exclaimed exultingly at the foot of the track.
Muguruza, the player who wowed the world at Roland Garros 2016 and Wimbledon 2017, is back. He leaves the tournament three of the world, a position he did not occupy since July 2018, and with three titles in his bag: the 1,000 from Dubai, 500 from Chicago and the Masters tournament. No season had ever reached that number.
The tennis player born in Caracas and raised tennis in Barcelona came out with the shirt of Tri, the Mexican team, ready to heat up the Pan-American Center of Zapopán. His racket was already ‘on fire’. She was on fire for her great game against Paula Badosa (double 6-3) the day before. Opposite, a 25-year-old player debuting in the conclave of the best to whom they had already overcome in the group stage, braking a streak of 12 wins in a row. The dynamite Estonian had won four titles in her last seven tournaments in a prodigious final sprint that took her to Mexico. But experience is a degree.
Muguruza’s aggressiveness with control, balance, was going to be imposed from the outset to Kontaveit’s runaway approach. He squeezed and squeezed the Spanish. He achieved a break for 2-1 that already caused the Estonian to sit in the I exchanged my face between my hands, on the verge of the pressure spigot popping out. But errors in Garbiñe’s network facilitated the counterbreak of Dmitry Tursunov’s pupil. Tranquility. It was about time. To keep pushing, pulling deep, securing the first serve (75% of first in), failing just enough (10 unforced errors against Kontaveit’s 22 in the sleeve) until two more breaks came.
“I came to the tournament with nothing to lose,” the Tallinn had warned in the previous, number eight in the world and with seven victories against top-ten this year, in kamikaze mode. But in front of him he found a player who was growing in the tournament. She overcame the initial defeat against Karolina Pliskova to overcome Barbora Krejcikova and put a stop to the Kontaveit canyon. It came thrown.
Muguruza, before a chair where they were Billie Jean King, Chris Evert or Martina Navratilova, he knew he could impose his stripes. Those who give being in the club of Grand Slam winners. He saw a break down in the second heat, but with withering debris he matched the pulse materializing a drive driven by a scream that came from his heart. He got three match balls and the first time he closed it and collapsed, crying face up, on the floor. Released, she went to hug Conchita Martínez, his coach and who participated in 12 editions of the Masters without success. This is also part of you. The merit of getting the best version of a talent who, when he plays like this, is unstoppable.
Garbiñe, who this year has shed the label of irregular, is already a teacher. And 2022 is right there next, with a crazy circuit looking for a queen. Why not her. “I have shown myself again that I can be the best,” she said with the trophy next to her. He’s back.