Garbine Muguruza - "relief" after returning to the circle of champions
Garbine Muguruza secured the title at the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai with a final victory over Barbora Krejcikova - and thus returned to the circle of tournament winners after almost two years.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit:
Mar 14, 2021, 09:16 am
It seemed bewitched: Despite a great start to the season, during which Garbine Muguruza found two match points against the eventual winner Naomi Osaka in the round of 16 at the Australian Open, the button on the Spaniard did not really want to open. The defeat in the final at the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne was followed by the four-round defeat at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year and another defeat at the WTA 500 event in Doha.
In Dubai, Muguruza should finally reward herself for her strong start to the season: Despite an enormously difficult draw, which, among other things, brought her early meetings with Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, the 27-year-old was not upset and sat down crowned the United Arab Emirates with a final victory over Barbora Krejcikova.
"Final Curse" broken
For Muguruza, the triumph at the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai was the eighth tournament victory of her career. The last one to date was in April 2019, when the Iberian triumphed in Monterrey. "It doesn't happen that often and I'm happy that it has now worked out after losing a few finals recently. It's a relief to hold the trophy," said the two-time Grand Slam winner after the final.
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"I think finals are very difficult because the two best players of the week meet. I had to work hard today and I'm very happy," said the former world number one, who even faced a set ball in the first set of the finals. away. "That means a lot to me. It is never easy to win a title."
Muguruza sees potential for improvement
In the form that Muguruza has been in since the beginning of the season, this task should at least be a little easier. In terms of her tennis game, she does not see herself at the peak yet, but has become a "more complete player", according to the 16th in the world rankings, who does not see the end of the flagpole yet.
Because the Spaniard trusts in her own abilities: "I always believed in being one of the players who could win the title." In the week of Dubai, she has now also provided evidence of this. And it wouldn't be surprising if Muguruza finally opened the button in the 2021 season.
Here the single tableau in Dubai