Tag Archives: Garbiñe Muguruza

Garbine Muguruza Wins Her First Western & Southern Open Title

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Garbine Muguruza has claimed her first title in the United States…

The 23-year-old Spanish-Venezuelan tennis player added another trophy in her breakthrough summer, beating Simona Halep on Sunday for her first Western & Southern Open title.

Garbine Muguruza

Muguruza’s 6-1, 6-0 win in only 56 minutes extended her streak of playing deep into tournaments and denied Halep a chance to claim the No. 1 spot in the next WTA rankings.

Muguruza won her first title in the U.S. and her second of the year, after defeating Venus Williams at Wimbledon earlier this summer. In three tournaments since, she has at least reached the quarterfinals.

Muguruza broke Halep to go up 2-0 in the first set and was in control. Halep won only 12 points in the set, which lasted 23 minutes. Muguruza broke her again to open the second set and faced only two break points all match.

When it ended, Muguruza congratulated Halep and walked around the court with her smiling face cradled in both hands, taking it all in. Then she put her hands over her heart and reached toward the applauding crowd.

The women’s bracket was missing Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova. Muguruza knocked off defending champion Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals.

Garbine Muguruza Upsets Karolina Pliskova to Reach Western & Southern Open Final

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Garbine Muguruza has taken down the world No. 1 to reach her first Western & Southern Open final.

The 23-year-old Spanish-Venezuelan tennis player and reigning Wimbledon champion beat World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova to secure a place in Sunday’s final of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, where she’ll take on No. 2 seed Simona Halep.

Garbine Muguruza

Muguruza came through 6-3, 6-2, having set the tone after breaking Pliskova in the very first game.

Muguruza kept the pressure on Pliskova’s serve, securing a key break to lead 4-2 in the second set before closing out victory in one hour and 21 minutes after taking a fifth match-point chance against the top seed.

Halep, meanwhile, could take over from Pliskova at the top of the WTA rankings if she’s able to win the tournament.

Halep had to battle past British No. 1 Johanna Konta 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) in their quarterfinal, which lasted almost two hours.

However, Halep coasted through the second semifinal with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Sloane Stephens in just 56 minutes.

Garbiñe Muguruza Stuns Top Seed Angelique Kerber at Wimbledon

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Garbiñe Muguruza has taken down the World No. 1…

The Spanish-Venezuelan tennis player defeated Wimbledon top seed Angelique Kerber on Monday 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the Round of 16.

Garbiñe Muguruza

Muguruza and Kerber delivered a stellar match at the All England Club, punctuated by a spectacular third set that featured five breaks of serve.

Muguruza, playing ultra aggressively, dictated proceedings in the two hour, 18-minute encounter, as she struck a whopping 55 winners to Kerber’s 27 – while also striking 50 unforced errors.

Additionally, Muguruza was successful on over 60 percent of the points when she forayed to the net, winning 35 of 54 total.

Kerber was a tidy plus-15 in her winner to unforced error ratio – 27 to 12 – as she forced the Spaniard to come up with her best time and again.

“When you have somebody that it’s so, you know, physically strong, so solid, the more you win free points or make it shorter, it’s better,” Muguruza assesed. “It’s also part of my game. Like I said before, I like to don’t wait 20 shots. You know, I go for it. Today I think was a key to make short points sometimes.”

With her fifth straight loss to Muguruza, Kerber will see her reign at No.1 end for now with a total of 34 weeks to her name – which ranks 12th all-time.

“It was for sure the best match for a long time for me,” the German said in defeat. “When I came here, I was telling myself, I was practicing good after Paris. For me, I’m still looking for the next months, next weeks. I think I’m again on a good way to playing again tennis, yeah, on a high level.

“I think we both play a good match, but at the end, I think just two points that decided the match. Of course I’m disappointed that I lost the match, because I was really playing good. Just one can win, and that was not me today.

“I will try, of course, to coming back [to] and being one day again the No.1. Right now, I’m really happy that I find my game back. I’m on court playing good tennis again.”

Muguruza Advances to Her First Australian Open Quarterfinal

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Garbiñe Muguruza is one step closer to another Grand Slam title.

The 23-year-old Spanish-Venezuelan tennis player has booked a maiden Australian Open quarterfinals berth, cruising to a straight-sets win over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.

Garbiñe Muguruza

Muguruza, who defeated Serena Williams in the final of last year’s French Open, rarely looked troubled on her way to a 6-2, 6-3 victory in just more than an hour on Sunday night.

She’ll next face American Coco Vandeweghe, who beat world No. 1 Angelique Kerber.

“It was a very important match for me because this is the third time that I’m in the round of 16 and I never go through,” Muguruza said.

“It means a lot. I always come here very motivated. To be in the quarterfinals is such a great achievement and I’m so looking forward to keep winning.”

Muguruza was able to capitalize on 26 unforced errors from world No. 78 Cirstea, who sought a medical timeout during the second set for treatment of a wrist injury.

Muguruza said she had grown in confidence since claiming her first grand slam title at Roland Garros last year.

“I know grand slams are very important,” Muguruza said.

“When you win one, you have that self-confidence and that belief in yourself that you can do it again.”

Puig Gives Puerto Rico Its First-Ever Olympic Gold at the 2016 Rio Games

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2016 Rio Games

Monica Puig is Puerto Rico’s first-ever Golden Girl…

The 22-year-old Puerto Rican tennis player’s Cinderella run through the 2016 Rio Games has ended with a gold medal around her neck, and the first ever Olympic gold medal for her home country. She’s also the first female medalist representing La Isla del Encanto.

Monica Puig

Puig defeated world No. 2 Angelique Kerber of Germany in the women’s singles final.

Ranked 32 places below her opponent, Puig dominated the final set with an aggressive display of offensive tennis to round off a well-deserved 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 victory.

Puig dropped to her knees after securing the win as fans, who had chanted “si se puede” throughout the match, proudly waved Puerto Rican flags in the crowd.

Monica Puig

The upset win also meant Puig became the first unseeded player to become Olympic champion since women’s tennis was reintroduced at the 1988 Seoul Games.

Puerto Rico had won just eight Olympic medals — six bronze and two silver — prior to Puig’s success. Six of those were collected in boxing.

After besting two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the semifinals, Puig vowed to win gold for her compatriots back home. “It would mean the world,” she told reporters.

Earlier in the tournament, this year’s Cinderella also soundly defeated 2016 French Open champion Garbine Muguruza.

“It’s just amazing. I know my country really appreciates this and I really wanted to give this victory to them. And the way I did this victory tonight, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” she said during the press conference.

Puig One Win Away from Earning Puerto Rico’s First-Ever Olympic Gold Medal at the 2016 Rio Games

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2016 Rio Games

It’s either gold or silver for Monica Puig…

The 22-year-old Puerto Rican tennis player stunned two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the Women’s Signles semifinals, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, to advance to the Gold Medal match at the 2016 Rio Games.

Monica Puig

Puig, who will face Angelique Kerber of Germany, has guaranteed Puerto Rico it’s ninth’s Olympic medal all-time, it made her the island’s first female medalist in any sport and gives her a chance to claim her country’s first-ever gold.

“For me it would mean the world,” said Puig. “It would be unbelievable and the biggest honor in the world. I’m doing it more for my country. This Olympics isn’t about me it’s about Puerto Rico and I know how bad they want this. This isn’t for me this is for them.”

Even Puig couldn’t have imagined she’d be in this position when the week began. Ranked 34th in the world, she owns just one career WTA title and has never been past the fourth round of a Grand Slam.

But she has found a different gear in Rio, upsetting French Open champion Garbine Muguruza and 11th-ranked Kvitova on her way to the final, double-jumping high into the air and covering her face with her hands as match point ended.

She also had significant support from the crowd, including a smattering of Puerto Rican flags waving through the stadium.

“I don’t think I’m so much a different play but my team sat me down after the first match her and said if you want to win you have to step it up and show everyone why you deserve to win,” she said. “That kind of changed my perspective. I have a lot of responsibility not just to myself but my country and if I want this I need to step it up.”

Puig Defeats Polona Hercog to Reach Women’s Singles Semifinals at the 2016 Rio Games

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2016 Rio Games

Mónica Puig is one win away from earning an Olympic medal…

The 22-year-old Puerto Rican tennis play won her quarterfinal match at the 2016 Rio Games, and now she is thisclose to winning at least a silver medal.

Mónica Puig

Puig continues to take single women’s tennis by storm at the 2016 Summer Olympics, after beating Slovenia’s Polona Hercog in three sets: 4-6, 6-1 and 3-6 to advance to the semifinals.

She has also bested Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Spain’s Garbine Muguruza and Germany’s Laura Seigemund.

Muguruza, the fourth-ranked player in the world and 2016 French Open champion was bested by Puig, 6-1, 6-1 in three sets.

Puig is ranked 34th in the world, but her momentum at the Rio Olympics has pushed her to the semifinal round, where she’ll face the Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitová.

Puig Beats Garbine Muguruza to Reach Quarterfinals at the 2016 Rio Games

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2016 Rio Games

Monica Puig is one step closer to gold…

The 22-year-old Puerto Rican tennis player, competing in her first Olympics, routed French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 6-1, 6-1 on Tuesday to reach the 2016 Rio Games quarterfinals, notching the biggest win of her career.

Monica Puig

“You just go in shock,” she said.

Even with the big lead, keeping it together through those last couple of games was tricky.

“You start getting emotional, and there’s no hiding it,” Puig said. “You start feeling those butterflies, those nerves. It’s all of that coming out.

Ranked 34th in the world, Puig has never reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam. Now she’s two wins from an Olympic medal.

She’ll face a player with a similar ranking for a spot in the semifinals: No. 32 Laura Siegemund, a 28-year-old German who is having a career year. Siegemund won her first WTA title at the Swedish Open last month.

At the 2013 French Open, Puig became the first woman representing Puerto Rico to reach the third round at a major in the Open era, which began in 1968. But at her first Olympics, her nationality takes on much more resonance.

“When I’m playing in the WTA, it’s more like I’m playing for myself — my job, let’s say,” she said. “Here, it’s not really my job. It’s for my country, and I think nothing in the world can compare to that. It’s the most special feeling when you put on your colors of your country and you’re walking around the Olympic Village and everybody looks to see your country on the back of your shirt.”

Muguruza is already a major champion. But after beating Serena Williams in the final at Roland Garros for her first Grand Slam title, the Spaniard lost in the second round at Wimbledon. She had 29 unforced errors to 15 winners on Tuesday.

Nadal to Compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio

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It appears Rafael Nadal will be swinging for gold this summer…

The 30-year-old Spanish tennis star’s name appears on the final entry list for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam tournament champion hasn’t played since pulling out of the French Open because of an injured left wrist and needed the International Tennis Federation‘s Olympic Committee to approve his appeal because he hasn’t played Davis Cup.

Nadal won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.

But Nadal isn’t the only Latino player set to compete at the 2016 Rio Games.

Twelve Latino players, including 2012 London Games bronze medalist Juan Martin del Potro, will compete in the men’s singles tournament.

In the women’s draw, six Latinas will be competing in singles, including French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, who will also compete in the doubles draw.

Half-Spanish tennis star Caroline Garcia, who won the women’s doubles title at this year’s French Open, will also compete in singles and doubles for France.

In all, here will be 64 players in the singles draws and 32 in doubles. Singles entries were based off the top 56 players in the June 6 rankings, with other ways to qualify for the final eight spots.

Each country is allowed a maximum of four singles players and two doubles teams for six players total on the men’s and women’s sides. Sixteen mixed doubles teams will be determined in Rio from players already in the Olympics.

Here’s the list of Latino players expected to compete:

MEN’S SINGLES ENTRY LIST

Argentina
Juan Martin del Potro, Federico Delbonis, Juan Monaco, Guido Pella

Brazil
Thomaz Bellucci, Rogerio Dutra Silva 

Dominican Republic
Victor Estrella Burgos 

Spain
Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Roberto Bautista Agut, Albert Ramos-Vinolas

Uruguay
Pablo Cuevas 

WOMEN’S SINGLES ENTRY LIST

Brazil
Teliana Pereira (ITF) 

France
Caroline Garcia 

Paraguay
Veronica Cepede Royg (TRI) 

Puerto Rico
Monica Puig 

Spain
Garbine Muguruza, Carla Suarez Navarro  

MEN’S DOUBLES ENTRY LIST

Argentina
Juan Martin del Potro/Maximo Gonzalez, Federico Delbonis/Guillermo Duran

Brazil
Marcelo Melo/Bruno Soares, Thomaz Bellucci/Andre Sa (ITF)

Chile
Julio Peralta/Hans Podlipnik (ITF) 

Colombia
Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah

Spain
Marc Lopez/Rafael Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut/David Ferrer 

WOMEN’S DOUBLES ENTRY LIST

Brazil
Paula Cristina Goncalves/Teliana Pereira (ITF) 

France
Caroline Garcia [paired with Kristina Mladenovic] 

Spain
Garbine Muguruza/Carla Suarez Navarro, Anabel Medina Garrigues/Arantxa Parra-Santonja

 

Muguruza: The Higest-Seeded Latina at This Year’s Wimbledon

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If all goes her way, Garbine Muguruza will most certainly get a rematch with Serena Williams in the Wimbledon finals…

The 22-year-old Spanish-Venezuelan professional tennis player, who lost to the World No. 1 tennis player 4-6, 4-6 in last year’s final, is seeded No. 2 for this year’s tournament at the All-England Club.

Garbine Muguruza

Muguruza, who bested Williams at the French Open to win the first Grand Slam title of her career, cannot face Serena, seeded No.1, until the final at Wimbledon, since they’re both in separate halves of the draw.

Seedings were based on the current world rankings but rearranged to reflect players’ grass-court achievements.

Muguruza is the highest-seeded Hispanic player on the women’s and men’s side. She’s followed by Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro at No. 13 and Caroline Garcia, who recently won her first-ever title on grass at the Mallorca Open, at No. 31.

Spain’s David Ferrer is the highest-seeded player on the men’s side at No. 13. He’s followed by Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut at No. 14, Spain’s Feliciano Lopez at No. 22 and Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas at No. 29.

Play at the third Grand Slam of the year starts Monday.

GENTLEMEN’S SINGLES
1 DJOKOVIC, Novak (SRB)
2 MURRAY, Andy (GBR)
3 FEDERER, Roger (SUI)
4 WAWRINKA, Stan (SUI)
5 NISHIKORI, Kei (JPN)
6 RAONIC, Milos (CAN)
7 GASQUET, Richard (FRA)
8 THIEM, Dominic (AUT)
9 CILIC, Marin (CRO)
10 BERDYCH, Tomas (CZE)
11 GOFFIN, David (BEL)
12 TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried (FRA)
13 FERRER, David (ESP)
14 BAUTISTA AGUT, Roberto (ESP)
15 KYRGIOS, Nick (AUS)
16 SIMON, Gilles (FRA)
17 MONFILS, Gael (FRA)
18 ISNER, John (USA)
19 TOMIC, Bernard (AUS)
20 ANDERSON, Kevin (RSA)
21 KOHLSCHREIBER, Philipp (GER)
22 LOPEZ, Feliciano (ESP)
23 KARLOVIC, Ivo (CRO)
24 ZVEREV, Alexander (GER)
25 TROICKI, Viktor (SRB)
26 PAIRE, Benoit (FRA)
27 SOCK, Jack (USA)
28 QUERREY, Sam (USA)
29 CUEVAS, Pablo (URU)
30 DOLGOPOLOV, Alexandr (UKR)
31 SOUSA, Joao (POR)
32 POUILLE, Lucas (FRA)

LADIES’ SINGLES
1 WILLIAMS, Serena (USA)
2 MUGURUZA, Garbine (ESP)
3 RADWANSKA, Agnieszka (POL)
4 KERBER, Angelique (GER)
5 HALEP, Simona (ROU)
6 AZARENKA, Victoria (BLR)
7 VINCI, Roberta (ITA)
8 BENCIC, Belinda (SUI)
9 WILLIAMS, Venus (USA)
10 KEYS, Madison (USA)
11 KVITOVA, Petra (CZE)
12 BACSINSZKY, Timea (SUI)
13 SUAREZ NAVARRO, Carla (ESP)
14 KUZNETSOVA, Svetlana (RUS)
15 STOSUR, Samantha (AUS)
16 PLISKOVA, Karolina (CZE)
17 KONTA, Johanna (GBR)
18 SVITOLINA, Elina (UKR)
19 STEPHENS, Sloane (USA)
20 CIBULKOVA, Dominika (SVK)
21 ERRANI, Sara (ITA)
22 PAVLYUCHENKOVA, Anastasia (RUS)
23 JANKOVIC, Jelena (SRB)
24 IVANOVIC, Ana (SRB)
25 STRYCOVA, Barbora (CZE)
26 BEGU, Irina-Camelia (ROU)
27 BERTENS, Kiki (NED)
28 VANDEWEGHE, Coco (USA)
29 SAFAROVA, Lucie (CZE)
30 KASATKINA, Daria (RUS)
31 GARCIA, Caroline (FRA)
32 MLADENOVIC, Kristina (FRA)