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Garbine Muguruza’s Wimbledon Victory Overview
71 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Bios
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Garbine Muguruza won the 2017 Wimbledon Women’s Singles after defeating legendary Venus Williams in a shockingly one-sided victory, which ended 7-5, 6-0 in a short and stunning two-set match.
2016 French Open champion Muguruza lost the 2015 Wimbledon finals to Venus’ sister Serena Williams, so this year marked her chance to get back on the grass and show the world what she was capable of. Muguruza did just that, with an almost flawless Wimbledon run that saw her drop only a single set (to Kerber) throughout the competition.
The first set was a fiercely contested battle, with the 37 year old Venus and 23 year old Muguruza fighting long and hard in rallies that looked like they would never stop, including a 19-shot rally in which Muguruza eventually emerged with the point.
It was Venus who led for much of the first set, but Muguruza held firm and finished with a perfect lob to gain two set points. If the second set was to live up to the first, we were in for a treat!
Yet the second set was a disappointment. Having been bested in the first, and catching sight of the true strength and ability of her opponent, it seemed that Venus simply lost her will to win. Perhaps the pressure related to the recent fatal Palm Beach car crash got to her, or symptoms of the Sjogren’s Syndrome that began to haunt her six years ago resurfaced, but Venus just did not seem true to form. Perhaps age is finally catching up with the ultra-fit American future Hall of Famer.
Venus’ serve slowed to as little as 89 mph at times, and mistakes started to seep into her game. Muguruza capitalized and held her pace to stun the crowd with a quick 6-0 victory. Muguruza won the final against Venus Williams in just 1 hour 17 minutes.
There is no denying that Venus Williams’ personal circumstances could be affecting her form, but Gabrine deserves credit where credit is due. She played an expertly-paced game against Williams, she overcame adversity in the first set (down set point), and her earlier performances were nothing short of overwhelming at times.
Muguruza defeated first round opponent Alexandrova 6-2, 6-4 and followed up against Wickmayer in the second round with the same scores. She slaughtered third round Sorana Cirstea with a 6-2, 6-2 win, before treating us to one of the best games of the competition against Angelique Kerber in the Round of 16.
Kerber was the Number 1 Seed and this one was never going to be easy. In fact, it could have gone either way at any time. Muguruza came out with an aggressive offensive game, but Kerber neatly counter-attacked, leading to a steady back-and-forth that continued for a total of 2 hours and 20 minutes. After losing the first set, Muguruza turned up the heat and took the final two sets for a final score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. It was a sensational, career-changing type of win.
The quarter and semi-final stages didn’t pose too much of a threat for Muguruza. It’s fair to say that with her victory over the world number one, the worst was over for her. All she had to do was hold strong through the finals. Muguruza achieved this by crushing 7th Seed Kuznetsova and then cruising through Rybarikova with a 6-1, 6-1 win. Beautiful.
At only 23 years old, and having just claimed her second Grand Slam title with her Wimbledon Women’s Singles victory, Muguruza is definitely one to watch in the future. She has shown the potential to be a dominant World No. 1 caliber player if she can maintain her Wimbledon form.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer won the Men’s Singles title in an iconic victory that marked his 19th Grand Slam win. He is now the favorite to win the US Open with 23/10 odds on BetStars.
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« Previous 1 2Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2017 at 5:52 pm
David Martin was Scott Lipskys dubs partner at Stanford and in early 2000s on Tour. He fizzled out though. Lipsky is still sizzling though.
Andrew Miller · July 24, 2017 at 6:58 pm
Fritz definitely pushed everyone! There were signs of life after the rankings tanking in February 2014, with only one USA men’s player in top fifty. Thankfully it’s a different point in USA men’s tennis revival. It was almost without a heartbeat.
scoopmalinowski · July 24, 2017 at 7:09 pm
Fritz saved American tennis and made it great again? Id say so. Nobody with pride and ego likes being outshined by a kid.
Andrew Miller · July 24, 2017 at 7:54 pm
Maybe Kozlov did it, first to make challenger final. Then Fritz won a pair of them, right? Fritz made his move in 2014 and Fritz in 2015 challengers. That action created the rumbling that motivated everyone is USA men’s tennis.
Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2017 at 9:28 pm
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Fritz beating Elder Zverev in 2016 Aus Open qualies third round from 0-4 down in the third set by winning six straight games and then taking Sock to five sets in the 1R surely sent shockwaves through US Tennis. Incredible effort by Fritz then he followed it up in Memphis by finaling. General Fritz sparked a revolution.
Andrew Miller · July 24, 2017 at 9:38 pm
Catherine, I just saw Tomic interview. Made me very sad. I don’t know if or what he will find in the sport. He may or may not find it, he’s the most depressed player I’ve seen. Agassi was like this and miserable and then somehow got a new set of eyes. But Agassi had different influences. They have similarities too.
Who knows. Tomic’s as likely to reverse course and find himself on top of Australian tennis as he is to fall outside the top 200 and quit the sport tomorrow.
catherine · July 25, 2017 at 3:45 am
I don’t know about other sports,particularly in US, but cricket is a game well known for harboring players suffering depression and allied mental health problems – so much so that a book was written about cricket suicides.
There’s a lot of help available nowadays to deal with this problem among pro cricketers and maybe that sort of thing might be indicated for Tomic in Australia. As you say Andrew, he may well look for a path out of the game or find a way to revive his interest and focus. It’s up to him and those around him in Aust tennis.
Andrew Miller · July 25, 2017 at 9:39 am
Tomic seems to be impenetrable. I’m not sure he realizes the enormity of what he does everyday. That people come to see him. That they actually are waiting for him to stay with it.
I speak for myself here. I’ve seen Tomic’s first rate talent. He reminds me of Kafelnikov. At first I thought how good could this guy be? But point after point whether on a practice court or match, when he cared, he would carve out a masterpiece.
So, I’m really and truly not sure what he sees out there. I’d guess, something that isn’t worth it.
But, that just says to me this is a guy who doesn’t recognize the heart of the game, that it’s not just a carnival. I hope somehow he sees it.
Andrew Miller · July 25, 2017 at 11:02 am
Tomic is now a guy with everything except perspective. He has all the wealth. The skill. Youth. Everything. Just no perspective. How huge a win would it be if Navratilova would join his camp? Or if she and Pat Cash could welcome Tomic next year to the booth after a breakthrough victory?
I don’t know.
Tomic and Kyrgios are enigmas. Tomic feels wronged and every a legend points out something about his performance on court he lashes out against them too and says well Rafter isn’t a great person behind closed doors, if you only knew…
To me, just unfortunate. Unfortunate. There are players who get to that level, find themselves there and say whoah this isn’t as great as I thought. Is this all there is?
I don’t belittle the struggling, even for wealthy people like Tomic, with youth and resources on his side. Sure, an overbearing, possibly cruel dad. Who withheld support for performance maybe? Who knows.
Now Tomic, a boy in a man’s game, who can buy anything but finds no happiness there, looks at the game and says is this all there is? And self destructs.
Deeply unsettling.
I don’t know what Tomic needs.
He could start by surrounding himself with good people. Maybe getting a mentor on tour too. Maybe having a heart to heart with people he has wronged and people who have wronged him.
Maybe play some doubles and help someone else achieve their goals.
Tomic still has a magic touch. It’s his gift. Sure he’d rather throw it away.
I’d argue he hasn’t even used it yet. And if he’s not going to make himself happy, he might as well help others.
Maybe coaching.
Hartt · July 25, 2017 at 11:33 am
I suppose it is possible Tomic can change, but I think the odds are against it. At 24 his basic character is formed. And he does seem to believe that buying expensive “toys” is what is important in life. He said something like others would just like to have the houses, cars, etc. that he has. What he fails to understand is that many people don’t value those things the way he does. In fact, as you get older you realise more and more just how unimportant things are. If Tomic ever comes to understand that it will be too late.
He does not need to love tennis but, given the incredible amount of time and effort top players must expend, it is sad that he does not. But he must have the maturity to understand that if he accepts the rewards he has to give his best effort.
catherine · July 25, 2017 at 12:15 pm
Maybe Tomic talks a lot about ‘things’, cars etc because it’s an easy way to objectify what he really means, that his heart’s often not in what he’s doing and he doesn’t know why, or can’t say, except to point to the material goodies he’s collected.
There’s the theatrical saying ‘the show must go on’ – supposedly to refer to the obligation to an audience, to come out and perform whatever, but I think it’s more loyalty to the profession, to your fellow actors, to the art if you like. Pride in what you do, whether there’s an audience or not and sometimes there isn’t.
That’s the perspective Tomic lacks. And I’d agree with Hartt that at 24 his basic character is there, for better or worse.
Scoop Malinowski · July 25, 2017 at 1:23 pm
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Tomic is still a kid and now he finally has freedom. he probably was a tennis slave for his whole childhood and now he's free. The chains that bind are off. He's not breaking the law or hurting anyone. He's just a kid having fun and enjoying life, the life he worked very hard for. Not everyone is driven to be the next Federer or Nadal. Those are one in a billions. Tomic has accepted he's not going to be the best and he's come to terms with it. At first I thought he was shaming tennis but I changed my mind. He's just doing it his way and we have to accept it, accept Tomic for who he is. I have new appreciation for Tomic. he is a very unique player and also free thinker.
Andrew Miller · July 25, 2017 at 2:15 pm
Motivation is a funny thing. Is this all that different from Capriati, an equally talented player who melted down publicly? There is some cry for help buried in Tomic’s not caring about anything. Given so many legends have turned on him, maybe they aren’t picking up on his misery and distress.
catherine · July 25, 2017 at 2:22 pm
Tomic doesn’t strike me as ‘just a kid who’s having fun and enjoying life’.
Not unless he’s leading us up the world’s tallest gum tree.
Hartt · July 25, 2017 at 2:38 pm
How old do these guys have to be before they are no longer kids? Sorry, 24 is not a “kid.” And he does not sound like he is really enjoying his life.
And I can’t get past the fact that a lot of the time he is not giving a good effort, in what ever type of work we do I think we have a responsibility to do our best. If we dislike our jobs so much, and can afford to make a change, then that is a real option.
Hartt · July 25, 2017 at 3:11 pm
I decided to check Tomic in Live Tennis Rankings. I started at around 79 and kept going down and down until I finally found him at No. 95. At this rate he will be outside the top 100 and won’t even make the cut for Slams. He is entered for Washington, but of course did not make the cut for either Montreal or Cincy. Somehow I can’t see Tomic playing the qualies for those tourneys. Isn’t he too good a player for that?
Andrew Miller · July 25, 2017 at 3:56 pm
I’d guess we’re not at rock bottom for Tomic. No, he’s not a kid, but he’s a very young man. And he may have seen it all, but he doesn’t seem to express much nuance to show that he sees beyond the fact that tennis has given him a good life and stolen his dad. Apparently he tries to help his sister Sara Tomic, but if he’s interested in coaching it doesn’t seem to be showing up in Sara’s ranking.
In this sport never say never.
But in the short term he looks like he’s not interested in breaking his fall.
Andrew Miller · July 25, 2017 at 4:01 pm
Hartt, I haven’t enjoyed Coric for this reason. But if Coric displays heart heck I may even become a fan of his. But with Tomic I cant deny he is one of the more talented players to come along since the big five. He does the most to block himself and to rebel against Australian tennis establishment. But like Philippissis there’s no denying the talent.
Andrew Miller · July 25, 2017 at 4:03 pm
For Tomic losing may be winning. Again, so complicated. He seems to want to penalize the sport for choosing him. So this is his way of rebelling. Saying you can’t force me to do what you want. So humiliating Australia, the tennis legends, is his way of punishing people for making him a tennis player.
It’s troubling.
Hartt · July 25, 2017 at 6:01 pm
Yes, Tomic is talented. We probably would not bother talking about him otherwise. But I have a soft spot for the guys who may not be super talented but who manage to get everything they can from their talent. Ferrer is a good example. I am not even a huge fan of his style of play but will root for him because he gives it everything he has. I still remember seeing him up close in a smallish court and was struck by how hard he hits the ball, that gets lost on TV. And of course he fights for every point.
It’s too bad Tomic’s talent can’t be transferred to some of the guys who care desperately about tennis.
Andrew Miller · July 25, 2017 at 7:18 pm
Hartt, I like Steve Johnson a lot – a very good athlete whose game isn’t the easiest on the eyes.