By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, May 29, 2016
Garbine Muguruza defeated 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach her third consecutive Roland Garros quarterfinal.
Photo credit: Julien Crosnier/FFT
Red clay is a reset button for Garbiñe Muguruza.
A resurgent Muguruza showed the power of concentration converting her fifth match point in subduing 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-3, 6-4, to roar into her third consecutive Roland Garros quarterfinal.
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"I think that when your opponent plays at a top level, you have to be at the same level or better, and that's what I had in mind," Muguruza told the media afterward. "I knew she was a very strong opponent. I knew I would have to be resilient and play my top level, and this is what could make me win the match. And it was a great match."
The fourth-seeded Spaniard won nine of the first 13 games against Kuznetsova, who prevailed in their lone prior meeting in three sets in Madrid last year.
Moving well and staying low through her shots, Muguruza drove the ball down the line with authority. She tripled the 13th-seeded Russian's winner output, cracking 37 winners compared to 12 for the two-time Grand Slam champion. Muguruza converted three of 12 break points.
This Roland Garros resurgence comes after a rough start to the season for the dynamic baseliner. Earlier this season, Muguruza sometimes looked cranky on the court, sniped at coach Sam Sumyk and did not win three tournament matches in a row until Rome earlier this month.
Competing with more positive energy these days, Muguruza has won seven of her last eight matches.
"The beginning of the year was tough, starting from scratch after the crazy end of the previous season wasn't easy," Muguruza said. "What I like to say and think is when you start a new season, when you start a new year, you have to start from scratch. I think that's, as I said before, one of the things I have improved. I try to not think too much about the past and focus on what I have to do."
The change you may see in Muguruza isn't in her strokes, it's in her head.
"I think the one thing that I have really improved is not just one type of shot. It's me, generally speaking," Muguruza said. "It's me. it's the way I prepare matches. I think I have more experience."
The work completed before she steps court is helping Muguruza find clarity between the lines.
"When I win I analyze why. When I lose I analyze why," Muguruza said. "And therefore, I have become a better player, generally speaking.
"It's not that I have improved my forehand or anything specific. I think I'm just, when I make it to a tournament, I'm much better prepared."
Since rallying for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 comeback surge over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in her opener, Muguruza has torn through the opposition permitting just 12 games in her last three matches.
In the 2014 quarterfinals, Muguruza lost to Maria Sharapova. Last year, she bowed to Lucie Safarova. This time, she will own a massive experience edge against her opponent.
The 2015 Wimbledon finalist will be favored to reach her first French Open semifinal against 108th-ranked American Shelby Rogers, who continued her dream run through the draw toppling 25th-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-3, 6-4.
It's a milestone moment for the Charleston native, who advanced to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal and ensured she will crack the Top 60 when the new WTA rankings are released.
"It's pretty amazing, usually it's Serena and Venus (reaching major quarterfinals)," Rogers told Tennis Channel's Jon Wertheim afterward. "This is my turn. I'm super excited. I was trying not to think about where I was, who I was playing. I tried to treat that last return as any other return, but it's difficult to do."
Hammering shots into the corners, Rogers has taken down three seeds. She surprised 17th-seeded Karolina Pliskova in her opener, then outslugged one of the game's top power players posting a 6-0, 6-7, 6-0 upset of 10th-seeded Petra Kvitova before taking down Begu today.
The 22-year-old Muguruza has never faced the 23-year-old Rogers before.
Her past two Paris quarterfinals are reference points, Muguruza aims to make her next quarterfinal a starting point.
"Of course, I'm very happy to have qualified this morning for quarterfinals," Muguruza said. "This is where I have stopped in the past, which means I'm extremely motivated to move on."