Muguruza enters Wimledon final beating Radwanska
Garbine Muguruza held her nerves and control on serve to make the ultimate final at Wimbledon. The 21 year old put on one dramatic semifinal match against Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska to win 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 on centre court Thursday afternoon. The 1 hour and 55 minute match had two strong opponents taking everything that had against each other with the youthful exuberance of Muguruza coming out on top.
It’s the veteran against the up and coming star in the WTA, where one will ultimately make their way into the Wimbledon Final Saturday. The two have met four times where the young Spaniard won the last two meetings at Sydney and Dubai this season. The victories have been the start of her dominating performance on the WTA tour that has her doing far better than her second round finish at Wimbledon in 2013. Muguruza defeated many big names through the tournament this year and would look to take down the Pole as well.
Radwanska had her eyes set on the final with her comeback return to tennis paying off dividends at the All England Club. The 2012 finalist has shown her quick mission to end matches in less than an hour and succeeded. Her efforts were required against Madison Keys in the quarterfinal where it took three sets to upset the American. The match was assured to have nothing short of a clash of power, as the two powerful players on opposite sides of the spectrum would lay it all out on centre court.
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Muguruza took a two game lead in the opening set taking a fight to Radwanska in the first game on a third break point. Unforced errors nearly cost her the second but held the win on quick shot far from the Pole’s reach. On her second chance of serve, Radwanska held off the Spaniard’s push into deuce to break on the scoreboard. The 21 year old fired away at Radwanska where her shots across the court dropped so quickly, making the ball unreturnable. Her strategy paid off as another shot went off the racquet but not well enough to make it over the net.
Muguruza ran away from Radwanska taking a 5-1 lead on Radwanska in what was growing into a landslide upset. The Pole gained another win against her but it wasn’t enough to keep her alive as the set came to an end on a love service. The set was over in 34 minutes. Muguruza made 12 winners on a serve percentage above 90.
She blasted away in the second set taking two games in a row with a double break point then winning on a backhander while on service. The Pole had to do something to get back into the match. Game Three was where she answered Muguruza with a perfect love service smashing the ball from her forehand cutting the margin in half.
Muguruza ended the fun for Radwanska as she returned to dominance with two aces before winning the set in a sweep of points landing a sixth winner. Radwanska was not out of skills to tame the young tennis star on court as she battled back to hold serve in the sixth, showing a sign of challenge late in the set. She gained the lead for the first time winning an important game point.
Radwanska showed tremendous fight against Muguruza, as her efforts to win the break were successful. In the conclusion a dramatic rally with the Spaniard, Radwanska added her fourth victory in a row to threaten a third set to be played. The Pole’s comeback concluded on a set point where Muguruza fired the ball outside the court to end the second in 33 minutes.
The well rounded game of Radwanska was alive for the first time in the match and with the third coming into play, it was likely to maintain control of the 21 year old and how much she could bring in the final set.
The third began as a tie with both players responding well while on the serve. It went on through four games where each one had the crowd on the edge of their seats. The ladies played long rallies where the response on return was so strong that each player was able to handle a volley near the net and return it to baseline shots before the point was won.
“I’m in a final at Wimbledon. I really want to win this tournament and get concentrated for this one.” – Garbine Muguruza
By the fifth game, Muguruza was first the break ahead and then gained a second straight win leading 4-2. The Spaniard and the Pole both kept up the dramatic shots near the net, but the lead was still in the hands of Muguruza. She put away Game Seven with a net shot smash to play for the match against Radwanska.
Standing so close to the edge of defeat, Radwanska pushed Muguruza to a 40-0 score until she came back to force deuce. Fortunately, the Pole held serve against the Spaniard to keep the set alive for just one more game.
It would be that game that ended the first of two thrilling matches on centre court as Muguruza made a great decision to challenge a call that barely touched the line. “I heard some people saying ‘out, out’ and I don’t know I was just playing and praying the ball was on the line,” Muguruza said to ESPN’s Gary Richardson. She would put her best game of the tournament in the books, winning on a smash winner to send her into her first major final.
“I don’t think I have words to explain,” Muguruza said. “Just happy to work all my life to achieve this moment so no words.” “I think I was playing really really good, I mean too good so I had to get calm don’t get excited and put a poker face.”
Her decision to become calm was the last key to give her the win but her dominance on winners and aces was the biggest contributor to handing her a chance in the finals. The Spaniard had 6 aces and 39 winners throughout the match while winning 79 percent of shots on her serve.
“I heard some people saying ‘out, out’ and I don’t know I was just playing and praying the ball was on the line,” – Garbine Muguruza
She saw a fight from Radwanska that could have been the difference between making the final and watching it. The Pole had a solid first serve with just seven unforced errors through the match. “I was just thinking that the match was gonna be tough and I was very nervous in the second set because Radwanska has a lot of experience and just fight,” she said about her opponent.
It was a fight that Muguruza won’t forget as her entry into the Wimbledon ladies final will have her facing two of the biggest names in tennis today. By the end of the day she will face either Serena Williams or Maria Sharapova on Saturday. “I’m in a final at Wimbledon,” Muguruza said. “I really want to win this tournament and get concentrated for this one.”