Garbiñe Muguruza is a player who neither forgets nor forgives. That is perhaps one of his best qualities in such an even individual sport., especially on the women's circuit. On Wednesday he took his revenge in Doha against Aryna Sabalenka, who had beaten him in their only previous match and this Wednesday he did the same against Maria Sakkari (6-3 and 6-1 in just 66 minutes), another tennis player with whom he had a negative balance for the minimum.
In its low hours, it seemed that anyone could beat the Spanish, and now, in the most dominant version that has been seen in a long time, the opposite happens. He can win or fall, but he competes to the maximum of his tennis and, above all, of concentration and hunger in every game. Sakkari, who had beaten Muguruza a couple of months ago in Abu Dhabi, fell victim to the anger and renewed ambition of the two Grand Slams winner.
In this way, with brilliance and a game that generates illusion, Garbiñe got into in the semifinals of the Qatar Open, in which she will face this Friday (around 6:00 p.m., DAZN) the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, who despite playing with back pain, beat the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in two sets (6-2, 6-4). The other tie will be played before Petra Kvitova and Jessica Pegula. The Caracas woman already has few pending accounts with top players. He owes one to Osaka, Andreescu and Brady, some of the rivals he has yet to beat. Against Sakkari, she wore some of the qualities that are making her a tough opponent. Now it stands out for the almost perfect balance it achieves between aggressiveness and control. Also his remains, especially against second serves, which not only puts into play but often turns them into winners. directly. Her opponents know that playing against her without first is a torture.
With three breaks in the first set and another two in the second, three games won on target with his serve and a high percentage of success in this aspect (76.8%) that made him miss only nine points in his turns in the whole game (four of them in the only game in which he conceded a break), Muguruza dictated the rhythm of the match and did practically what he wanted and when he wanted. His 5-0 partial to put the icing on the cake to another great victory says it all. Now let the next one happen.
“Being strong allows you to choose how you want to play”
“I've been working on mobility, getting fit. And when you are, your body is ready to play the way you want.It doesn't matter if you want to be aggressive, or want to stay behind a bit, or if you want to run … feeling physically strong allows you to choose how you want to play “, Muguruza eloquently explained at a press conference. The woman from Caracas also said that it is no coincidence that she wins so many points against second serves: “I am training it because I see it as an opportunity to take the initiative at the point. The difficult thing is to play aggressive and calculate and control the risk, but it is clear that in the second serves I want to go for the point “. Garbiñe says that it has always been seen “as a good player and a dangerous rival.”
Table and results.