By Chris Oddo | Saturday October 3, 2015
Venus Williams claimed the Wuhan Open title over Garbine Muguruza on Saturday, bolstering her Singapore bid in the process.
Photo Source: Zhong Zhi/Getty
It was an anticlimactic finish to a climactic week for 35-year-old Venus Williams in Wuhan, China. The American had endured two three-set marathons in her previous two rounds at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, and many believed she might not have enough in the tank to put her best foot forward against red-hot and rising Garbine Muguruza in Saturday’s final.
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Instead it was the 21-year-old Spaniard who ran out of gas and eventually retired due to fatigue trailing 6-3, 3-0.
A week that saw Williams become the WTA’s ninth player to reach the 700-win plateau also saw her win her biggest title since 2010.
“It was a great week to win the tournament and have the 700th win--great moments this week,” Williams told the crowd after the final.
Williams’ 47th title, and second of 2015, also bolsters her bid to reach the WTA Finals in Singapore for the first time in six years. Early provisional rankings provided by the WTA show Williams rising from 23rd to 8th in the standings (the top eight qualify, with nine and ten qualifying as alternates).
Muguruza, who could have clinched her Singapore bid with a win in the final, currently sits in third place.
“I’m very sorry but sometimes the body is not recovered,” she told the crowd. “I had an amazing week at Wuhan, I felt so much support from the crowd and it was great.”
Afterwards, Muguruza told press that her body couldn’t recover from the exertions of the last two weeks, and also cited some left leg pain.
Muguruza, who suffered an ankle injury and had to seek on-court treatment during her semifinal win over Angelique Kerber, appeared to be no worse for the wear in the early going of Saturday’s final. The finalists traded breaks in the first game and settled into a battle for first-strike supremacy with neither giving up too much ground in the first eight games.
Williams would break for 4-2, but Muguruza quickly got back on serve with a break of her own before handing Williams another break for 5-3 with a double-fault.
From that moment, the fight seemed to leave the Spaniard. Williams served out the set without complication and quickly raced ahead 3-0 in set two, thanks to eight second-set unforced errors from Muguruza, before the Spaniard pulled the plug during the changeover.
Muguruza apologized to Williams as they embraced in front of the umpire’s chair before the awards ceremony began.
Williams improves to 3-0 vs. Muguruza with the win, and 34-11 in 2015.
The American will rise to No. 14 in the rankings. Muguruza will rise to a career-high ranking of No. 5.
Notes, Numbers, Tweets
Williams becomes the second player to save match points and go on to win a title in 2015. The other was Daniela Hantuchova (Thailand).
Williams improves to 6-3 vs. the Top-10 in 2015, and 123-88 lifetime.