Muguruza races to Cincinnati title, No.1 ranking again escapes from Halep

Garbine Muguruza followed her Wimbledon triumph with a title at the US Open hardcourts, winning the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati with a quick 6-1 6-0 victory over Simona Halep in the final, denying the Romanian the rise to the top of the WTA rankings.

The fourth-seeded Muguruza has for the first time won multiple titles in a single season, while this week’s run to the Premier 5 champion’s trophy included comfortable back-to-back victories over the world No.1 Karolina Pliskova and No.2 Simona Halep, who for the fourth time this year fell short of grabbing the top ranking by only a five-point margin. Pliskova’s continued reign at the No.1 spot and Lucie Safarova’s rise to the No.1 doubles ranking mean that Czech players are absolutely dominating the WTA in that department, which had never happened before.

Before straightforward wins over Pliskova and Halep, the 23-year-old Muguruza had to save three match points against seed No.16 Madison Keys in the third round and then fought for nearly three hours against eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. The Spaniard will ascend to No.3 in the WTA rankings, from her current position of No.6.

Muguruza’s winning apparel: the legend blue Adidas Fall Stella McCartney Tank, featuring figure-slimming white lines at the front, Climacool moisture management and an open hole mesh back panel, and the matching Adidas Fall Stella McCartney Skirt that comes with built-in compression shorts. Shoes: Adidas Stella Barricade 2017.

As you know, our photographer Jimmie48 covered the entire tournament, including the final, so stay tuned for his photo gallery from the title match and trophy ceremony.