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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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1 2 Next »Andrew Miller · July 22, 2017 at 1:46 pm
As Wertheim said: Mugu-ruthless!!!
Andrew Miller · July 22, 2017 at 1:54 pm
Ostapenko vs Muguruza; Muguruza vs Sharpie. The exhibition potential is unlimited.
All credit to Muguruza. She’s had her game face on all year. Not even here what? loss to Strycova could deprive Muguruza of a title she saw as hers.
Now that’s desire. Right up there with Conchita Martinez, Bartoli, other Wimbledon champions who ripped titles away from excellent players.
Muguruza is a perfect example for Alex Zverev. You want a slam? Beat the king.
Andrew Miller · July 22, 2017 at 1:56 pm
Until Federer shelves the season to prepare for Wimbledon…another reason betting and oddsmakers know nothing. They bet on both sides! House wins!!! I’m sure they called Ostapenko’s title too 🙂
kiu · July 22, 2017 at 10:18 pm
Mugu is halfway to a career slam, she is only 23
Will anyone be surprised if she gets it?
More French open titles are in the future too.
Wayn · July 23, 2017 at 7:49 am
Garbine played superbly throughout Wimbledon fortnight, game-face totally on. Her 4th epic against Kerber my quality match of the tournament. It will be interesting where she takes it from here. Conchi will become full-time coach at some stage. Only 4 career titles says it all really. Is Garbine, when she is dialled-in for two weeks only going to win big ? When you have the French Open and Wimbledon titles on the mantlepiece, who needs the number 1 ranking ?
Andrew Miller · July 23, 2017 at 10:14 am
Muguruza will now…who knows. WTA is a merry go round of winners.
Scoop Malinowski · July 23, 2017 at 10:19 am
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Wayn; She is ready to dominate. She is big strong and very comfortable in the spotlight. I get the sense she wants it. Took a few years to feel out the tour and how it all works but it's her time now. She has the capacity to overthrow Serena. Conchita must stay on board, it appears Conchita is the better fit for her. Sam Sumyk is probably qualified too but if a choice had to be made I think it's a no brainer to go with Conchita as the main coach. Sumyk seems better suited for a younger player or a mid range ranking player. I really don't know much about his credentials other than that time Muguruza insulted him on court when she said, "Tell me something I don't know." She made it seem like he is one of those broken record type coaches.
Scoop Malinowski · July 23, 2017 at 10:23 am
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Andrew; all merry go rounds eventually have to stop to re-board. or they break down. Muguruza at Wimbledon might have been the stop. And the merry go round might have a blown gasket or cracked cylinder. Repairman on vacation for the month too. 🙂
catherine · July 23, 2017 at 10:49 am
We will find out at USO 🙂
Andrew Miller · July 23, 2017 at 11:02 am
Scoop, I have no clue. Ostapenko looks hungry. Kvitova isn’t in champ form and favors Wimbledon only. Halep may decide to win her slam here and now. Kerber might feel like Wimbledon belonged to her after the QF with Muguruthless. (no one likes this nickname! I got it from the great Wertheim article in sports illustrated that recapped the tournament with a focus on Federer and how he is as much an artisan and tinkerer as he is an artist, how much work goes into making it look like it isn’t much work).
Unless your crystal ball is working better than mine, which works once a year or so!
Andrew Miller · July 23, 2017 at 11:04 am
Scoop, best players seek to have a stable of coaches, a big coach to accompany a less prominent one plus physio trainer etc. Unless they are greedy. Or hire a guru (Jelena…quit and give the job to someone who knows better!!! Be first fan…not first coaching option!)
Andrew Miller · July 23, 2017 at 11:05 am
Scoop, you are a better coach than Pepe. It’s time for Djokovic to dump the fraud.
Andrew Miller · July 23, 2017 at 11:07 am
My prediction: Muguruza calls it a year, loses early at us open, QF or so, respectable. Goes home to Spain. Enjoys life and makes some nice indoor runs, keeps her game up and puts it on the line in Australia, refreshed and enjoying 2018.
I have little faith of consecutive slams on the wta tour.
catherine · July 23, 2017 at 1:15 pm
Andrew – so what happens to the frantic ‘race to Singapore’ ? A meaningless event if ever there was one. Can you choose not to play ? Will Muguruza qualify ? Kerber probably won’t. Get a good long off season. Get to Australia ready to play and not be a ghost this time. Angie looked nice at Radwanska’s wedding. She’s dumped the red lipstick. Good sign.
Leave the silverware to Simona. She wants that No 1.
‘Muguruthless’ ? Silly name and Garbine’s not particularly ruthless either. I agree with you on early exit at USO.
My USO prediction as before – WTA will be someone who’s won it or nearly won it. Could be the same for men. So you see I’m covering my bets.
Thomas Tung · July 23, 2017 at 1:52 pm
In other news, in a few minutes young Andrey Rublev makes it into tonight’s final in Umag, Croatia. Not a bad result for him (defeated Fognini along the way in a hotly contested 3 setter, with Fogs deliberately conceding the 2nd in order to make a big hard push in the 3rd); he plays Lorenzi, so Rublev definitely has a chance to make it his maiden ATP title.
Hartt · July 23, 2017 at 2:13 pm
Scoop, Sam Sumyk was Viks’s coach from 2101-2015, when he left her for Bouchard. Vika was very upset when he left, so he must have something going for him as a coach. The coaching relationship with Bouchard did not work at all, and was short-lived.
Bryan · July 23, 2017 at 3:41 pm
Muguruza is perplexing. She’s already got two majors to her name but falls off the chats of poor tennis in between big performances.
Venus basically submitted in the second set. Muguruza beat the fight out of her when she lost the first. She knew there was no way she’d be able to pull off a 3 set win and tapped out. Kind of a shame.
catherine · July 23, 2017 at 4:11 pm
I think Garbine is one of those performers who rises to the big occasion and then can’t find the same motivation in between.
Used to be more of a pattern in past eras when ranking points etc didn’t exist in the same way and players were assessed more or less on how they did in the big events.
Those were the ones that mattered.
Hartt · July 23, 2017 at 4:19 pm
It will be interesting to see if Muguruza can become more consistent at the smaller tourneys or if she will be the WTA equivalent of Wawrinka. My gut feeling is that she will start to do better outside of the Slams than she has so far, but will always be more of a big match player.
Andrew Miller · July 23, 2017 at 4:38 pm
Road to Singapore? It’s “lose respectably and go home” for Garbine. Show up because it’s mandatory, do a photo shoot, book your flight hone, then lose inexplicably and say, to everyone, my opponent just was too good today 🙁 All the while…getting some new sunglasses, her 101st pair, and figuring out the next weeks at the beach. Fun.
Andrew Miller · July 23, 2017 at 4:41 pm
Folks, players modeled themselves after Serena and Venus. They played a pretty light schedule in past, focused on majors, showed that’s all that’s required. So everyone else followed suite who has a good game and smart coaches. And here we are. Muguruza could care less about small tournaments…those are for scheduling occ and speaking to your English speaking coach in Spanish.
Andrew Miller · July 23, 2017 at 4:42 pm
Let Pliskova be #1…follow Safina in your slamless odyssey…
Hartt · July 23, 2017 at 6:37 pm
And in other news, Rublev did indeed win his first ATP title and will be in the top 50. Not bad for a 19-year-old.:)
Another youngster had a good day. 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov won the Gatineau Challenger over fellow Canuck, Peter Polansky, who was the defending champ. This is Denis’ 2nd Challenger title and puts him at about No. 130 in the rankings. I had predicted he would make top 150 this year, but did not expect it quite so soon. He plays the Granby Challenger next week and is slated for the Citi Open qualies. He has a WC for the Rogers Cup main draw and will play there on Aug. 8. It seems like a heavy schedule even for someone as energetic as Denis.
Scoop Malinowski · July 23, 2017 at 7:57 pm
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Venus landed her best shots in the first set but it was not enough. She still lost. Key first set. Muguruza's play psyched out Venus and broke her will. That is not easy to do. That's how well Muguruthless was playing.
Scoop Malinowski · July 23, 2017 at 8:03 pm
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Andrew; Pepe Imaz could be the worst coach in ATP history. He has wimpified the best player in the world.
Scoop Malinowski · July 23, 2017 at 8:07 pm
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Ostapenko is a front runner. Keys is a floater at this point. Pliskova does not seem to have that burning obsession to win a major. Kvitova can always awaken. Halep is knocking on the door. Konta is at the door. Mladenovic and Garcia could pull a Puig. Come to think of it, a lot of players can go Puig mode.
Scoop Malinowski · July 23, 2017 at 8:09 pm
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Excellent win by Rublev. Did not see this coming a year ago he was in the doldrums. Rublev winning should spark a lot of players like Mmoh, Kozlov, etc who were peers of Rublev in juniors.
Hartt · July 23, 2017 at 9:27 pm
According to the site, ubitennis.com, Rublev’s win today was the first time a lucky loser went on to win an ATP title since 2009 when Ram won the Hall of Fame championship.
Andrew Miller · July 23, 2017 at 11:35 pm
Isner wins Newport, USA men titles in 2017 way, way up.
catherine · July 24, 2017 at 2:42 am
Scoop – I don’t believe that much in Ostapenko. I believe more in Simona now because she has entered Washington as a wc. No reason for that except she’s not aiming to be a Slamless No 1.
She knows a lot of people consider her a really terrific loser.
catherine · July 24, 2017 at 5:49 am
Interesting piece on Tomic in D Tel today – helps see him in a more sympathetic light.
I suspect a few players, male and female, have felt some of the things Tomic confesses but they’ve kept a lower profile.
Hartt · July 24, 2017 at 8:12 am
I have sympathy for Tomic. Despite what he said, his father sounds like a perfect nightmare. But beyond that, if he is not going to put forward his best effort on the tennis court, he should stop playing. People pay their hard-earned money to see tennis, whether it is for tickets or for TV channels (here I pay a fortune to get decent TV tennis coverage). He said he has lots of money, so he can afford to retire from tennis, although he’d have to give up his super lavish lifestyle.
Who knows, if he stopped playing he may even discover that the grind is worth it and he might become more mature. But for now, if he can’t be bothered to give his best effort for each match, I can’t be bothered to watch him.
catherine · July 24, 2017 at 9:11 am
Hartt – I suspect Bernie would agree with your last sentence 🙂
Hartt · July 24, 2017 at 9:46 am
Catherine, lol, you may well be right! After all, he is a smart guy. 🙂
Hartt · July 24, 2017 at 9:52 am
Today I happened to see an interview with Belinda Bencic, done in late 2015, where she said she was happiest on the tennis court and talked about all the things she enjoyed about tennis, including going to new places. Knowing how much she has been sidelined with injuries since then, this seems very sad. This is another aspect of the Tomic story, there are so many players who are out with injuries, who would give their eye teeth to be able to play.
Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2017 at 10:03 am
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Isner first title in two years. Let's see if it leads to more.
Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2017 at 10:03 am
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Catherine; I think Ostapenko is hungry for more. A lot more. Halep is starving for one.
Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2017 at 10:04 am
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Catherine; Tomic trarning now in Miami/Key Biscayne. One of my friends has been hitting with him, posted pic on IG. At least he is working at his job.
Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2017 at 10:09 am
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Bencic was struggling even before the injuries. beating Serena was almost like a curse, she went down after that. Never really blossomed after that win like we all expected. I'd have to rate Bencic now as a question mark. The game is passing her by. A lot pf players are passing her. She is young but is close to getting tagged with that 'faded star' label.
catherine · July 24, 2017 at 11:07 am
Scoop – have a feeling some of the others are going to work out how to play Ostapenko.
Simona probably sees USO as her best chance at a GS. Could be right.
Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2017 at 11:55 am
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Catherine; Ostapenko is not even close to being a finished product. She will only get better with more experience and winning.
Andrew Miller · July 24, 2017 at 1:23 pm
Ostapenko is a big match player!
catherine · July 24, 2017 at 1:25 pm
Djokovic out of USO I hear.
Andrew – Ostapenko wasn’t big match at W’don.
Andrew Miller · July 24, 2017 at 1:36 pm
Scoop, today’s superstars really remember those defeats. Federer, Serena, if they lose to a young player now they use it as motivation to beat them repeatedly in the future and make the players wish they never beat them! Kind of amazing. Federer remembers junior losses and keeps them in mind whenever he faces a former junior foe.
Chazz · July 24, 2017 at 2:28 pm
On the topic of Tomic, this is pretty interesting:
http://deadspin.com/tanking-enthusiast-bernard-tomic-i-dont-tank-i-just-1797198688
Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2017 at 2:53 pm
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Ostapenko had the misfortune of running into a red hot in form Venus Williams. No shame in that loss.
Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2017 at 2:54 pm
Scoop Malinowski writes:
Roddick said in Newport the biggest upset he ever saw was in Orange Bowl when David Martin was upset by Roger Federer. Wonder if David Martin won that match, if he would have become as big as Roger has? 🙂
Andrew Miller · July 24, 2017 at 4:25 pm
USA men ATP titles 2017: 6. Two by Sock, One Querrey, One Isner, One Johnson, One Harrison.
Great year, best in last five years.
Andrew Miller · July 24, 2017 at 4:34 pm
If David Martin had lost that match and was like Michael Jordan or Federer, we’d be talking about the big six players.
We’ve talked about this before. Most junior slam champions aren’t accomplished after some time on tour. The best and hungriest are.
Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2017 at 5:50 pm
I remember a reader of the site saying a couple yrs ago it was a big deal when an American got to the sf or f of a challenger. Things can change quickly. Taylor Fritz in Malbourne and Memphis mightve been the spark.