By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday November 17, 2021
Garbine Muguruza powered past Anett Kontaveit to become Spain's first singles champion at the WTA Finals.
Photo Source: Getty
Even two months before Garbine Muguruza qualified for this year’s WTA Finals she was already feeling good about the event. She told the crowd on Wednesday night in Guadalajara that when WTA CEO Steve Simon told her two months ago that the WTA Finals may be shifted from Shenzhen, China to Mexico for one year and one year only, she thought to herself: “Oh my God, I have to make it.”
The Spaniard qualified, and the rest is history.
Muguruza wrapped up her biggest title since 2017 on Wednesday by powering past Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 7-5 to become the first Spanish player to ever claim the singles title at the WTA Finals.
“I'm just very happy I proved to myself once again I can be the best, I can be the 'maestra', like how we say in Spanish,” she said. “That puts me in a very good position for next year, a good ranking. How can I say? A good energy. It's just the payoff for such a long year. My team and I worked hard. It pays off. Just shows us that we're doing the right way.”
Muguruza embraced the Guadalajara vibe throughout the tournament and even though the mile-high altitude was tricky to conquer, she proved to be a quick study and steadily improved with each match. After a first round-robin loss to Karolina Pliskova in three sets, the Spaniard won her next four matches, and on Wednesday against Kontaveit she was opportunistic throughout, as she weathered all the tough patches and closed out each set in style.
Muguruza lofted a textbook lob over Kontaveit’s head to wrap up a tricky opening set, and in the second set she rallied from 5-3 down, winning 16 of the final 20 spots to close out a satisfying victory.
She dropped to her back on the court and basked in the glory of her biggest title in her biggest title since Wimbledon in 2017.
Afterwards she told reporters that she feels 2021 has been her best season.
“I'm just very happy I proved to myself once again I can be the best, I can be the 'maestra', like how we say in Spanish,” she said. “That puts me in a very good position for next year, a good ranking. How can I say? A good energy. It's just the payoff for such a long year. My team and I worked hard. It pays off. Just shows us that we're doing the right way.”
Asked if she was still as motivated now, at 28, as she was in her Grand Slam winning days, Muguruza was quick to respond with a yes.
“I'm still the same. That's what fuels me,” she said.