It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Spain’s Garbine Muguruza, who has risen to a personal high in the WTA rankings at number four and reached the finals of two Premier tournaments in that time span.
On Sunday, the Spaniard converted on her second chance at a title in China, defeating Swiss Timea Bacsinszky 7-5, 6-4 in the Beijing final. Muguruza showed resilience and composure as she came back from 2-5 in the first set and won five straight games only to storm back from 0-2 in the second.
This Premier Mandatory title is the most prestigious in Muguruza’s career and also makes the just-turned 22-year-old the youngest player to achieve such a feat since then-21-year-old Petra Kvitova won the 2011 WTA Finals.
The year keeps getting better for Muguruza, who had already clinched a spot in this year’s WTA Finals in Singapore and will have the chance to prove herself in the star-studded field, which includes the likes of Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep.
Muguruza’s winning apparel: the color-block Adidas Winter Stella McCartney Tank and midnight grey Adidas Winter Stella McCartney skirt. Shoes: Adidas Stella Barricade 2015 Yellow Glow. (photos: Jimmie48)
Since Li Na has retired, I have become a big fan of Garbi’s. If she could work a little on the finesse game to go with her power game, I think she can go far. Saw a hint of that when she drop shotted Radwanska and then lobbed over her head for a winner, in the semifinals of Beijing.
Jim, I’m looking forward to seeing what she’ll do in Singapore. I can tell that she’s a bit intimidated, but she also belives she must be able to go all the way to the trophy, as the very fact that she’s qualified means that she’s capable.