Former Wimbledon Champion Garbine Muguruza No Longer Troubled By Pressure - UBITENNIS
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Former Wimbledon Champion Garbine Muguruza No Longer Troubled By Pressure

The former world No.1 opens up about how she copes with the expectations of others following her first round win.

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Garbine Muguruza (ESP) waves to the crowd after defeating Fiona Ferro (FRA) on No.2 Court in the first round of the Ladies' Singles at The Championships 2021. Held at The All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon. Day 1 Monday 28/06/2021. Credit: AELTC/Edward Whitaker

At the age of 27 Garbine Muguruza says she no longer has to prove herself after getting off to an almost perfect start at the Wimbledon Championships.

 

Muguruza, who is seeded 11th in the Championships this year, powered her way to a 6-0, 6-1, win over France’s Fiona Ferro in just 51 minutes on a rain-affected day at The All England Club. Impressively the Spaniard dropped only eight points behind her serve throughout the match and won 54 out of the 74 points played. A stark contrast to two years ago where she was knocked out in her opening match.

“We played before at the French Open and it was a tough match. I was preparing for a battle, especially on grass which is sometimes difficult to play on,” Muguruza said afterwards.
“I’m happy, I feel good on the court. From the first ball I was trying to dominate the point and I felt I was doing it. I think she didn’t have her best day but I was in control of the match.”

On the WTA Tour Muguruza is one of 18 active players to have won at least one Grand Slam title. A statistic which highlights the current depth of the women’s game. Her triumphs occurred at the 2016 French Open followed by Wimbledon the following year. She remains the only player to have ever beaten both of the Williams sisters in major finals.

Given Muguruza’s previous success at Wimbledon, it could be forgiven that she would have high expectations. Heading into the tournament she reached the quarter-finals in Berlin before losing to Alize Cornet. However, the former world No.1 insists that she no longer feels the pressure on Tour.

“I don’t feel that I have to prove anything any more. I played well here (at Wimbledon) and I’m excited to be back. Every year, it’s let’s see how far can I go at Wimbledon, how many matches can I get on a grass court?” She said.
“I stopped feeling this pressure of having to prove or show someone that I have to perform well or something. I’ve been through that and now I feel more calm.”

During her first round encounter on Monday Muguruza admits she felt emotional but for a good reason. She was inspired by the return of fans at Wimbledon after what has been a turbulent past 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic which forced the tournament to be cancelled last year.

There were a lot (of people) in the crowd waiting for us and it was like ‘oh wow.’ At the beginning of the year I played a lot of matches and finals on an empty court,” she reflected.
“Today when I stepped out (on court) and everybody was clapping I felt, like, ‘oh my god.’ This is what I have missed. This feeling, the energy and I play for people to come and watch. That gives me motivation. It has always been like that with me. The bigger the stage the more motivated I am.”

Muguruza will play Dutch qualifier Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove in the second round who knocked out Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets.

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Jannik Sinner beats Danil Medvedev in the China Open final to clinch the ninth title of his career

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Jannik Sinner beat Danil Medvedev 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-2) after 2 hours and 1 minute earning the first match win of his career against his Russian rival in his seventh attempt. 

 

Sinner has won the ninth title of his career and the third of the 2023 season following his triumphs Montpellier and his first ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto. The Italian player claimed the second ATP 500 title after Washington following his two wins over top 3 players Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal and Danil Medvedev in the final. 

Sinner has moved to number 4 in the ATP Live Ranking becoming the second Italian player to reach the top 5 after Adriano Panatta, who won the Internazionali d’Italia in Rome and Roland Garros in 1976 reaching a career high of world number 4. Sinner is aiming to qualify for the NITTO ATP Finals in Turin for the first time after playing as alternate in 2021.

Both players served well in the first four games of the opening set. Sinner saved a break point in the fifth game and held serve with a forehand. Medvedev fended off two break points in the eighth game. Sinner earned two mini-breaks to open up a 3-0 lead in the tie-break and hit two winners on serve to race out to 5-0. Medvedev pulled one of the mini-breaks back but Sinner closed out the first set 7-2 on his second set point. 

Medvedev saved three break points (the third with a forehand winner) in the third game of the second set to hold serve at deuce for 2-1. Sinner held serve to 30 at 3-4 and won the 10th game on serve at love to prolong the match. 

Sinner opened up a 3-0 lead with an early mini-break at the start of the second tie-break and forged to 5-2 with a service winner. Sinner earned four match points with a forehand and converted his first chance with a forehand winner to secure his 49th match of the season.  

“Danil, thanks for letting me at least one match. We have had some very tough battles, especially this year. Thanks for making me a much better player. I have been training a lot to beat you. My team are working a lot. Thank you very much and it is special this moment with you”, said Sinner during the award ceremony. 

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Iga Swiatek cruises past Magda Linette to reach the quarter final at the China Open in Beijing

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Iga Swiatek cruised past this year’s Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette 6-1 6-1 to reach the quarter final at the China Open in Beijing. Swiatek has won her 60th match in 2023. 

 

Swiatek set up a match against Caroline Garcia or Anhelina Kalinina. 

Swiatek did not face any break points and dropped just eight points on her serve and hit 16 winners to Linette’s three. She broke twice in the first set and three times in the second set. 

Swiatek has won her 18th match this year for the loss of three or fewer games. 

Swiatek has improved to 3-1 in her head-to-head matches against her compatriots. She lost her only match via retirement against Joanna Zawadswa in the first round of the Warsaw ITF W25 tournament in 2018. 

Swiatek has reached her 14th quarter final in 2023 and her ninth at WTA 1000 level. The Polish player has become the fourth player since 2009 to reach seven or more WTA 1000 quarter final in the same season after Agnieszka Radwanska, Li Na and Serena Williams. 

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Dusan Lajovic beats Stan Wawrinka to reach the second round in Shanghai

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Dusan Lajovic beat Stan Wawrinka 6-4 7-6 (9-7) on Stadium  Court at the Masters 1000 tournment in Shanghai in their first head-to-head match since Roland Garros 2015. 

 

Lajovic, who won the ATP 250 title in Banja Luka last April completed the set of winning a main-draw match at each of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments. 

Lajovic broke Wawrinka’s serve in the first game of the opening set. The Serbian player earned a double break in the seventh game to open up a 5-2. Wawrinka pulled one break back in the eighth game for 3-5, but Lajovic served out the first set to love. 

Lajovic earned went up a break twice in the third and seventh games of the second set, but Wawrinka broke back both times. Lajovic saved a set point at 6-7 in the tie-break and won the final three points to close out the match in 1 hour and 53 minutes. 

Lajovic hit 16 winners to just 7 unforced errors. The Serbian player moved to 1-2 in his three head-to-head matches against his Swiss opponent. 

Lajovic set up a second round match against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor. 

Brandon Nakashima beat Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-1 7-6 (7-3) to set up a second round match against Holger Rune. Nakashima won his first Masters 1000 match since last March in Miami. Nakashima broke twice in the second and fourth games and held his final service game at love to seal the first set 6-1. Both players went on serve with no break points en route to the tie-break. Zapata Miralles earned an early mini-break at the start of the tie-break to take a 2-0 lead. Nakashima won seven of the next eight points including three mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-3. 

Thanasi Kokkinakis beat Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-4 in 1 hour and 20 minutes. Kokkinakis earned an early break in the first game of the opening set. Fognini did not convert two break-back points in the second game. Fognini saved a break point in the fifth game, but Kokkinakis broke for the second time in the seventh game and held his serve in the next game to seal the first set 6-2. Fognini made three unforced errors at 4-4 in the second set and Kokkinakis earned the break after Fognini made his third double fault of the match. 

Kokkinakis leads 4-0 in his head-to-head matches against Fognini. The Australian player will face Hubert Hurkacz in the second round. 

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