preview Melbourne: Garbine Muguruza won only one match between June and December last year. Suffering illness, she was then thrashed 0- 6 by a qualifier in her first set at the Australian Open. Now she faces American surprise- package Sofia Kenin in the final here today, on the cusp of a third Grand Slam title.
The Venezuelan- born Spaniard has been keen to play down the swift transformation in her fortunes, but the facts speak for themselves.
Dial back to July 2017, when Muguruza won Wimbledon to go with her French Open title a year earlier.
In September 2017 she rose to World No. 1. What followed was a gradual but marked decline that she is only reversing now. Muguruza won one title in 2018, in Monterrey, Mexico, the other high point reaching the French Open semi- finals.
She retained her Monterrey crown in 2019 but lost in the first round at Wimbledon in July, precipitating a dire run where she reached only one second round in five tournaments.
In Melbourne, Muguruza bristled at one reporteru2019s suggestion that she had been stuck in a u201c comau201d for the last two years. u201c I think a u2018 comau2019 is a pretty strong comment. I would say I think those years were less successful if you compare them to my previous years,u201d said Muguruza, unseeded at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2014.
Muguruza, now at 32 in the world rankings, will dart up to 11th if she beats Kenin in the final.
AFP Womenu2019s singles final: Muguruza all set to be back from the brink Spainu2019s Garbine Muguruza Sofia Kenin of USA Numbers game Muguruza Kenin 0 Head- to- head 1 2 Grand Slam titles 0 7 Career titles 3 oz open on tv Womenu2019s singles final: Sony Six & Six HD, 14: 00
