Garbine Muguruza might be just two wins away from her maiden French Open title, however, the 22-year-old has stressed that she is still a far from glory.
The fourth seed progressed to the last four in Roland Garros for the first time in her career after defeating American underdog Shelby Rogers 7-5, 6-3. In both sets Muguruza was forced to recover from a 0-2 deficit to seal the win after 81 minutes of play. Muguruza’s latest triumph consisted of five aces and 21 winners.
Since her roller coaster opening match against Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová, Muguruza has won ten consecutive sets at Roland Garros. The impressive display by the Spaniard has lead to some labelling her as a favourite for the title, an association that Muguruza disagrees with.
“I don’t think so. I don’t put myself in that position,” she responded when ask if she thought that she was a favourite.
“It is match after match. I mean, some seeded players were defeated, but there are lots of players who are doing well. So I don’t think about it. I just want to focus on my game match after match. In a semifinal you can be defeated very quickly.”
The run at the French Open is the best produced by the 22-year-old since the Beijing Open last October, when she won the biggest title in her blossoming career. This year Muguruza has played four top-10 players on the tour, producing wins over Timea Bacsinszky and Roberta Vinci.
Standing in the way of Muguruza reaching the final is Samantha Stosur. The former French Open finalist battled past Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 7-6(6), in her quarter-final match. The upcoming meeting will be the first between the two since the 2014 Madrid Open, when Stosur claimed a three-sets win.
“She plays well. It will be a tough match,” the world No.4 said about the upcoming match.
“In a semifinal, all matches are tough. Lots of players are under stress because they want to reach the final, so I will focus on my tennis and I will give my best.”
Unlike last year, Muguruza has the previous experience of playing in a major semi-final after her run to the final at last year’s Wimbledon championships. Whilst experience will aid the Spaniard, trying to maintain a clear head will be a tough task.
“It’s very difficult to maintain your peace of mind when you reach the semifinal of a Grand Slam. You have to do away with the secondary thoughts,” she said.
“I need to concentrate on my game; I need to be well-prepared. When I get up in the morning, I need to focus my game until I step on court. This is what I will be doing.”
If Muguruza achieves her dream run at Roland Garros, it will be only the sixth time in the modern era that a Spanish woman has won a grand slam title.
