Tennis: Muguruza beats Kontaveit to win WTA Finals

GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- Garbine Muguruza beat Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 7-5 on Wednesday to become the first Spaniard to win the elite season-ending WTA Finals in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Muguruza, winner of the 2016 French Open and 2017 Wimbledon titles, capped a 2021 campaign that saw her return to the highest level with titles in Dubai and Chicago after three years outside of the top 10.

Muguruza, a former world number one, is projected to end the year at number three in the world.

Kontaveit, whose late-season surge included titles at Moscow and Cluj-Napoca, is projected to reach a career-high ranking of seventh in the world.

Muguruza battled back from a break down in the second set, winning the last four games of the match to seal her 10th career title, breaking Kontaveit at love.

She notched her second win of the tournament against Kontaveit, having ended the Estonian's 12-match WTA win streak with a must-have round-robin victory on Sunday.

It was the seventh time in WTA Finals history that round-robin opponents have had a rematch in the final.

"I'd like to congratulate Garbine," Kontaveit said as she accepted her runner-up award. "You've beaten me twice this week, that's just too good."

For Muguruza it was another standout performance in Mexico, where she won back-to-back titles in Monterrey in 2018 and 2019.

The WTA Finals were moved to Guadalajara from Shenzhen, China, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Agence France-Presse

Sofia Kenin pulls off stunner to win 2020 Australian Open women’s title

Sofia Kenin of the United States stunned two-time major champion Garbine Muguruza of Spain on Saturday to win the Australian Open in her first Grand Slam final.

Kenin, 21, showed all her trademark aggression as she fought back from a set down to win it 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in 2 hours, 3 minutes and become the youngest player to lift the trophy in 12 years.

The 14th seed, who will now jump as high as seventh in the world and usurp Serena Williams as America's number one, was in tears at the end and headed straight for her father Alexander, who is her coach.

It was the final twist in a tournament of upsets, after Williams went out in the third round and Kenin upset Australia's world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the semifinals.

"My dream officially came true, I can't describe this feeling," said Moscow-born Kenin. "It's amazing, dreams come true. If you have dreams, go for it, it's going to come true."

Muguruza, 26, was unseeded for the first time at a Slam since 2014 having suffered a marked loss of form in the last 18 months.

She was resurgent in Melbourne over the past fortnight, but after grabbing the first-set lead, her serve failed her spectacularly.

She totted up eight double-faults in all, three of them in the final game — including one on the second championship point, handing the title to her younger opponent.


- Kenin fights back -

Muguruza drew first blood at Rod Laver Arena, where the roof was closed for rain in Melbourne, getting the first break of serve.

Moscow-born Kenin, who ended the fairytale run of 15-year-old Coco Gauff on her way to the final, bounced her American stars-and-stripes racquet on the hardcourt in irritation.

The 2016 French Open and 2017 Wimbledon winner Muguruza took the first set in 52 minutes when the young American planted her forehand out.

But the aggressive Kenin upped the ante in the second set, breaking her more experienced opponent in the fourth game and easily holding to sprint into a 4-1 lead.

Kenin, who won their only previous encounter in three sets, grabbed the second set in an emphatic 32 minutes. A rattled Muguruza was seen briefly by a physio for what appeared to be a lower-back problem.

Into the deciding set and the gutsy Kenin saved three game points in a pivotal fifth game, tossing the ball back over her head by way of celebration.

Kenin, who was overshadowed in the build-up to Melbourne by the likes of Williams, Osaka and Barty, adds by far the biggest title of her fast-burgeoning career to the three WTA crowns she won last year.

"The past two weeks have been the best of my life," she told Rod Laver Arena, as her father — who left the Soviet Union in 1987 to give the family a better life — filmed her victory speech on his phone.

"I love you guys from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much," she told the crowd.

At 21 years and 80 days, Kenin is 22 days younger than Japan's Naomi Osaka when she won the title last year.

Kenin is the youngest Australian Open champion since Maria Sharapova -- her idol -- won aged 20 in 2008.

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Tennis: Illness ends Serena's Indian Wells bid, No. 2 Halep advances

INDIAN WELLS -- Serena Williams's first tournament since the Australian Open came to an abrupt end on Sunday as the ailing 23-time Grand Slam champion retired from her third-round WTA match against Garbine Muguruza at Indian Wells.

Muguruza was leading 6-3, 1-0 when Williams called it a day in the battle of former world number ones because of a viral illness.

"Before the match, I did not feel great, and then it just got worse with every second; extreme dizziness and extreme fatigue," Williams said in comments released via tournament organizers.

The 10th-seeded American, continuing to work her way back up the rankings in the wake of time off to have a baby, had made a strong start, winning the first three games.

But she called for the trainer after dropping six straight to Muguruza.

After a long talk with medical personnel Williams took the court for the second set, but after Muguruza held serve at love Williams called a halt.

"By the score, it might have looked like I started well, but I was not feeling at all well physically," Williams said. "I will focus on getting better and start preparing for Miami."

Muguruza, currently ranked 20th in the world, was sorry to see the match end the way it did, even though it put her through to a fourth-round meeting with seventh-seeded Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, a 7-6 (12/10), 6-4 winner over Britain's Johanna Konta.

"We've played many times and it's always super-tough, super-exciting," Muguruza said of Williams. "I wish I'm going to see her soon and feeling better."

In fact their five prior meetings all came in Grand Slams, the last two in finals. Williams beat the Spaniard for the Wimbledon title in 2015 and Muguruza walked off with the 2016 French Open crown.

It was a tough draw for Williams, who defeated former world number one Victoria Azarenka in her second-round opener.

World number two Simona Halep had her hands full with Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Kozlova but emerged with a 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 victory in her first meeting with the 114th-ranked player.

"It was really difficult against her because I never played against her -- it was a bit difficult to get a rhythm," Halep said.

There were service breaks aplenty as Halep and Kozlova traded four on the way to the first-set tiebreaker and four more to open the second set.

Halep's two holds -- sandwiched around another break of Kozlova's serve -- put the Romanian up 5-2 but she was broken serving for the match and needed one last break of Kozlova's serve in the final game to clinch it with a backhand up the line.

"When I was leading the match, she played without fear, I felt like she was playing much better in those games," Halep said.

"It was difficult for me to close those sets, but I'm actually proud that I could do that," added the Romanian.

Halep next faces 61st-ranked Czech Marketa Vondrousova, who followed up her win over 2018 finalist Daria Kasatkina with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over 22nd seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.

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Muguruza outlasts Kuznetsova, next faces Pliskova in Cincinnati

Fourth-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza won a lengthy battle against Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-2 5-7 7-5 on a hot and windy day on Friday to reach the Cincinnati Open semi-finals.

Wimbledon champion Muguruza stuck out her tongue in exasperation after finally prevailing in the two hour 45-minute contest between the two grand slam winners.

Playing a day after deadly attacks killed a total of 14 people in Barcelona and the coastal town of Cambrils in Spain, Muguruza wore a white visor with a black ribbon as a tribute.

"Barcelona te siento. Barcelona I feel you," Muguruza wrote on Twitter after the match.

Muguruza next faces world number one Karolina Pliskova, who won back-to-back matches on Friday.

The Czech first defeated Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi 6-3 4-6 6-0 in a match postponed by a day because of rain.

The top seed then took another step toward successfully defending her title by overpowering former world number one Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 6-4 in her second match.

Pliskova had 27 winners to Wozniacki's eight with only 13 unforced errors compared to the sixth-seeded Dane's 19.

Second seed Simona Halep also beat Britain's Johanna Konta for the first time in an exciting back and forth 6-4 7-6(1) victory.

Halep capitalised on a service break in the first set and then raced out to a 4-1 lead in the second before Konta fought back to send it into a tie-break.

The Romanian, however, dominated the tie-break to set up a semi-final match against American Sloane Stephens.

The American continued her strong form following her return at Wimbledon after an 11-month absence with a foot injury by defeating Germany's Julia Goerges 6-1 7-6(3).

Stephens had earlier beaten Russia's Ekaterina Makarova 2-6 6-3 6-4.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll; ediitng by Ken Ferris)

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Two's company as magnificent Muguruza finds winning formula

LONDON - It was a tale of two coaches and two sisters for Garbine Muguruza on Saturday as the Spaniard found the formula to steer her way through a barrage of high-intensity tennis and claim her first Wimbledon crown.

The moment of truth came in the 10th game when her opponent Venus Williams, 37 but playing with the energy of a teenager, threatened to cut loose after a captivating half hour of play.

The Venezuela-born 23-year-old faced two set points on her own serve but held her nerve to win them both, before reeling off the next nine games against the seven-times grand slam champion, a player she idolised in her youth.

"I was so excited to go out there and win, especially over somebody like a role model," Muguruza told reporters following the 7-5 6-0 victory that brought her her second major title.

  
With that comes the distinction of becoming the first player to beat both Venus and sister Serena in grand slam finals.

That triumph over the younger Williams came at last year's French Open, which was followed by a dip in form that has transitioned from a gradual to a spectacular reversal over the past fortnight.

"(It) is very hard to find a recipe to feel good fitness-wise, tennis-(wise), mentally. I think in this tournament I put everything together, which is very hard," Muguruza said.

One obvious new factor at the All England Club has been the addition to her entourage of Conchita Martinez in the absence of regular coach Sam Sumyk, whose wife is expecting a baby.

The new champion met Martinez - who beat a 37-year-old Martina Navratilova in 1994 to become Spain's only previous Wimbledon women's singles winner - as she paraded with her trophy through the corridors beneath Centre Court.

The pair embraced like family before being joined for a patriotic photo-op by Madrid-born four-times men's slam champion Manuel Santana, who lifted the Wimbledon crown in 1966.

"Obviously, I like Conchita to be in my team because I have a great relation with her," Muguruza said.

"We were very excited ... - the coincidence of her (beating) Navratilova, me (beating) Venus.. was, like, awesome."

Did that mean winning the title without Sumyk had given Muguruza extra confidence?

"No, definitely not... I was talking with him every day... We've done a very good job before.. I guess (him and Martinez) is a combination."

And the underlying message for her regular coach was laced with humour.

Asked at courtside if she had anything to say to him, she held the trophy aloft and said: "Here it is."

(Reporting by John Stonestreet, editing by Ed Osmond)

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Garbine Muguruza stuns Venus Williams to win 1st Wimbledon title

Garbine Muguruza stormed to her first Wimbledon title and shattered Venus Williams' history bid with a majestic 7-5, 6-0 victory in Saturday's final.

Muguruza overwhelmed Williams with a supreme display of power hitting in 77 minutes on Centre Court to become only the second Spanish woman to win Wimbledon.

Watched from the Royal Box by King Juan Carlos of Spain, the 23-year-old finally got her hands on the Venus Rosewater Dish two years after losing to the Venus' sister Serena in her maiden Wimbledon final.

Fittingly, it was Muguruza's current coach Conchita Martinez who was the first woman to raise the Spanish flag at Wimbledon in 1994 when she defeated Martina Navratilova.

"The first set was tough. We both had a lot of chances. I'm glad I took mine," Muguruza said.

"Two years ago I lost in the final against Serena and she told me I would win one day. Here I am. Finally!"

Venezuela-born Muguruza's second Grand Slam title, following her French Open triumph last year, denied Williams, 37, in her attempt to become the oldest Wimbledon champion in the Open era.

Back in the Wimbledon final after an eight-year absence, Williams had hoped to clinch a sixth All England Club title, nine years after she last lifted the trophy.

Instead, she paid the price for a surprisingly nerve-ridden display that condemned her to a second Grand Slam disappointment this year following her Australian Open final loss against Serena.

"Congratulations Garbine. I know how hard you work," Williams said.

"I tried my best to do the things Serena does, but I think there will be other opportunities."

Since winning her maiden Grand Slam title in Paris, Muguruza had endured something of a sophomore slump as her ranking dropped out of the top 10.

But she has rediscovered her mojo on grass and will climb to fifth when the new rankings are confirmed next week.

Remarkably, of her four tour-level titles, two are now Grand Slams.

With persistent drizzle blanketing the All England Club, Williams and Muguruza were competing in the first Wimbledon final to begin under the roof, watched by a sell-out crowd including Hollywood actress Hilary Swank.

Twenty years ago, Williams admitted she was a bundle of nerves when she made a losing Wimbledon debut against Magdalena Grzybowska and, in her ninth All England Club final, once again there was anxiety coursing through her error-strewn display.

Fortified by a cross-court winner to bring up break point at 3-2, Williams looked poised to seize control, but instead a tame forehand into the net to let Muguruza off the hook.

- Barrage -

It was the first of a series of vital escapes for Muguruza, who was matching Williams blow for blow in a series of bruising baseline rallies.

Gifted two set points at 4-5, Williams couldn't deliver the knockout blow and Muguruza over-powered her in a gripping rally to save the first before scrambling out of trouble on the second.

Muguruza had the momentum now, her piercing ground-strokes gradually moving Williams into enough awkward areas to land the crucial first break at 5-5.

Williams was rattled by Muguruza's barrage, fatally allowing the Spaniard's lob to drop in and present her with set points that she gleefully gobbled up.

Muguruza was just 6 when Williams first won Wimbledon and the 23-year-old's third major final appearance was dwarfed by Williams' 16 Grand Slam title matches.

Still reeling from the shock of losing the first set, she served up a limp double fault on break point to hand Muguruza the lead at the start of the second set.

Williams was shattered and Muguruza went for the kill so ruthlessly that in the blink of an eye she had broken twice more to take a 5-0 lead.

Muguruza had spoken eloquently this week of etching her name onto the Wimbledon honours board alongside Venus, Serena and the other All England Club icons.

It took one last blizzard of thunderous winners to ensure her dream would come true.

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Nadal, Djokovic cruise as Muguruza downs ex-champ

PARIS, France -- Rafael Nadal launched his pursuit of a record 10th French Open title in convincing fashion, while defending champion Novak Djokovic eased to victory under the gaze of new coach Andre Agassi.

Reigning women's champion Garbine Muguruza began her Roland Garros defence with a straight-sets triumph over 2010 winner Francesca Schiavone.

Nadal, who was forced to withdraw before last year's third round with a wrist injury, brushed aside 45th-ranked Benoit Paire 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 inside two hours.

"I'm very happy to be back here after what happened last year. It's great to feel the support," said the 14-time major champion.

Nadal broke Frenchman Paire eight times and recovered from a slight second-set wobble when he dropped serve twice in a row to surge into a round two meeting with Dutchman Robin Haase.

"It's always at the start, happy for the victory. Was not an easy opponent in the first round, obviously. He's an uncomfortable opponent that already he had some good victories this year," added Nadal.

Title-holder Djokovic strolled through his opener against Marcel Granollers of Spain, advancing 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

With 1999 French Open champion Agassi in the players box for the first time after agreeing a short-term coaching role, Djokovic experienced some trouble against the world number 77, being broken four times.

"It's great to have Andre Agassi as coach and as a mentor. I will try to learn as much as I can from him," said Djokovic.

The Serb, seeking to become the first man in the Open era to win all four majors on at least two occasions, will take on Portugal's Joao Sousa next.

"Coming to this tournament for first time as a defending champion gave me, probably more than anything else, relief, because the anticipation and the pressure and expectations that I had also for myself but all the other people around me in the last three, four, five years before 2016 Roland Garros trophy was really big," added Djokovic.

'Earn confidence'

Muguruza's middling form this season saw her arrive in Paris with just three wins on clay, but the Spaniard dispatched former Paris champion Schiavone 6-2, 6-4.

The fourth seed will meet Estonia's Anett Kontaveit for a place in round three as Schiavone, who turns 37 in June, bid farewell to the tournament for possibly the final time.

"I cannot believe in the first round we have two ex-champions. Not only that but Francesca is a legend and I was very excited to play on Philippe Chatrier court with her," said Muguruza.

"I know I played good here before. That doesn't make me extra confident this year. I think I just have to earn that confidence here, and, like today, going out there, trying to deal with things. That's what brings me confidence. Not remembering how I played last year."

Muguruza defeated Serena Williams to win her maiden Grand Slam a year ago, but the 23-year-old needs to return to the final to stay in the world's top 10.

Second seed Karolina Pliskova won for just the third time in six visits to Roland Garros with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over China's Zheng Saisai.

Former French Open runners-up Sam Stosur and Sara Errani, the latter coming through qualifying, also moved into round two.

Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic raced through with a routine 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Steve Darcis of Belgium.

Raonic fired 15 aces and 44 winners to book a meeting with Brazil's Rogerio Dutra Silva, who saved two match points before overcoming Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in five sets.

Former US Open champion Marin Cilic and Belgian 10th seed David Goffin also progressed, but American 14th seed Jack Sock was blown away in three sets by towering Czech left-hander Jiri Vesely.

David Ferrer, the 2013 runner-up, outlasted American Donald Young in a four-and-a-half-hour marathon, prevailing 13-11 in the final set.

Rising German star Alexander Zverev, seeded ninth, will return to finish his first-round tie against veteran Spaniard Fernando Verdasco on Tuesday after play was suspended due to darkness at one set all.

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U.S. OPEN: Nadal, Kerber breeze at US Open, Muguruza survives

NEW YORK -- Rafael Nadal and Angelique Kerber shrugged off sweltering temperatures to reach the US Open second round Monday as French Open champion Garbine Muguruza survived a worrying health scare.

Nadal, the 2010 and 2013 champion, took his perfect first round record in New York to 12-0 with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.

The Spaniard's reward for a fifth win in five meetings against the Russian-born player is a match-up with Italian veteran Andreas Seppi.

A wrist injury forced Nadal into an early retirement at the French Open and sidelined him from Wimbledon before a gold medal run in the doubles at the Olympics helped ease his misery.

"The most important thing is that I am here in New York. Injuries are part of the career. I had a hard time this year," said the fourth seed.

Kerber needed just over 30 minutes to get her pursuit of a first US Open title off to a winning start.

The second seed and Australian Open champion was leading Polona Hercog 6-0, 1-0 when the Slovenian called it quits, clearly wilting in the 33-degree heat, having won just nine points.

"It's not the way I wanted to win, but I am playing well and feeling good," said the German star.

Kerber, a semi-finalist in 2011, next faces Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia.

Spanish third seed Muguruza carved out a gritty 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 win over Belgian qualifier Elise Mertens, ranked at 137.

But the French Open champion needed courtside treatment from a doctor after dropping the first set on the Louis Armstrong Court.

The consultation certainly worked as she reeled off the next seven games to lay the foundation for her win.

Muguruza plays Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia for a place in the last 32.

French 13th seed Richard Gasquet, a semi-finalist three years ago, was the day's biggest casualty.

He went down to 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 to British world number 84 Kyle Edmund.

America's John Isner, seeded 20, almost joined Gasquet at the exit before coming back from two sets down to beat 18-year-old compatriot Frances Tiafoe.

Isner, who fired 35 aces, triumphed 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) after three and a half hours against the youngest player in the draw.

Croatian seventh seed Marin Cilic, the 2014 champion, eased past Brazil's Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-4, 7-5, 6-1.

Flamboyant French 10th seed Gael Monfils took his summer hardcourt record to 15-2 with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 win over Gilles Muller of Luxemburg.

Monfils almost suffered a freak accident when a giant courtside clock fell towards him as he collided with the back wall, chasing down a Muller shot.

"When you are in the moment you don't feel really anything. Just jump. I saw a wall, but it was quite lucky," admitted Monfils.

Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 champion, needed only 58 minutes to beat old rival Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 6-2.

The pair famously played the longest women's match of all time at the 2011 Australian Open where Schiavone saved six match points in a four hour 44-minute marathon.

Double Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova beat Jelena Ostapenko 7-5, 6-3 while former world number one and two-time US Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki downed US qualifier Taylor Townsend 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The Flushing Meadows complex was showcasing its gleaming $600 million refit which includes a retractable roof over Arthur Ashe and a brand new Grandstand court.

However, the old Grandstand court, due to be demolished after the tournament, was pressed into action after Court 10 was deemed unplayable.

Later Monday, world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic, whose last major ended in a shock third round exit at Wimbledon, starts against Jerzy Janowicz of Poland.

Djokovic, the 2011 and 2015 champion, admits he is "not 100 percent" after suffering a wrist injury on the eve of the Olympics where he was a first-round loser.

Women's top seed Serena Williams and 2012 champion Andy Murray will get underway on Tuesday.

Williams is chasing a record seventh US Open and will equal Steffi Graf's record of 186 successive weeks at world number one.

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Serena battles rivals, self-doubt at Wimbledon

LONDON -- Serena Williams finds herself under siege from revitalized rivals and an army of doubters as the defending champion starts her bid for a seventh Wimbledon title and a record-equaling 22nd Grand Slam crown.

Since she walked off Wimbledon's Centre Court cradling the Venus Rosewater Dish awarded to the women's champion nearly 12 months ago, Williams has found herself engaged in a losing battle with the history books.

That Wimbledon final victory over Garbine Muguruza meant Williams had won all three of the year's major titles, putting her within touching distance of becoming the first woman to secure a calendar Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.

But Williams' historic bid came to stunning end in the US Open semi-finals when she was beaten by 300-1 outsider Roberta Vinci.

In the aftermath of that chastening September day in New York, Williams has appeared a more vulnerable figure.

For so long, Williams' power game and competitive instincts intimidated opponents into submission, but this year she has won only one of her five tournaments, in Rome in May, while enduring a pair of shock defeats in the Australian and French Open finals.

There is a growing sense the emotional scars from the US Open haven't fully healed for Williams and Germany's Angelique Kerber took advantage to shock her in Melbourne in January, while Spain's Muguruza avenged her Wimbledon loss by beating Serena in Paris earlier this month.

Falling at the final hurdle twice this year has left Williams still stuck on 21 Grand Slam titles -- one short of Graf's Open era record of 22 and three behind the all-time record of 24 set by Margaret Court -- ahead of Wimbledon, which gets underway on Monday.

- Twilight -

The 34-year-old is the oldest woman to be ranked number one in the world and, with off-court interests including the fashion industry and a recent appearance in a video for pop-star Beyonce's 'Lemonade' single, critics have claimed Serena is no longer so focused on her tennis in the twilight of her glittering career.

Given Williams compiled a remarkable 53–3 match record in 2015, even she had to admit 2016 has been a disappointment by her sky-high standards.

"Not as great as I want it to be," Williams said when asked to assess her year so far. "I could do better. But honestly, that's how I felt about 2015."

In the circumstances, Williams will be relieved to feel grass under her feet as she returns to the venue where she won the first of her six Wimbledon titles in 2002.

"I've had people put me down because I didn't look like them," Williams said in a recent documentary.

"I've had people look past me because of the color of my skin. I've had people overlook me because I was a woman. I'm still going."

With Maria Sharapova absent as she appeals against a two-year ban for doping, the main challengers for Serena's crown should be second ranked Muguruza, former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska and the likes of Kerber, Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka, who defeated Williams in the Indian Wells final in March.

Muguruza, who last year became the first Spanish woman to reach the Wimbledon final since 1994, is the pick of the bunch after winning her maiden Grand Slam title in such composed and combative fashion at Roland Garros.

The Venezuela-born 22-year-old's first round exit in last week's Mallorca Open was a setback but she is now fully focused on Wimbledon.

"The truth is I'm disappointed, but now I'm just training harder to arrive ready for Wimbledon," Muguruza said.

"It feels like ages since I last stepped on grass, but it brings me great memories, even though it isn't a surface I've always liked.

"I've learned to love it more lately and then reaching the final at Wimbledon, that was something so special."

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