The WTA professional circuit is entering another exciting part of the calendar with the North American outdoor hard swing on its radar. At its core stands the U.S. Open, the last Major of the season and the last chance to capture a Slam. Garbine Muguruza will want to improve her numbers at this event where she has had little success in the past.
Once Serena Williams stepped off the stage due to her pregnancy, the world wondered who would be able to stand up and seize the opportunity. So far, the French Open and Wimbledon Championships delivered two different names as the winners of women's singles contest.
It was Muguruza at Wimbledon while the French Open saw a brand new WTA star making its way to the top as Jelena Ostapenko clinched her maiden grand slam title.
Garbine Muguruza has the momentum
The first part of 2017 saw the Spanish player in a constant struggle with form and injuries. Failing to defend her 2016 French Open crown threw her outside the top 10 with dark prospects looming ahead. The warm-up session on grass court turned out to be a smoke screen. She encountered little success in Birmingham and Eastbourne and only a few saw her a a favorite for Wimbledon. But she managed to bring back the lost mojo and made a perfect run.
En route to her second Wimbledon final, she got past Angelique Kerber, Kuznetsova while in the last act she outplayed Venus Williams in a stunning manner.
Now, the question remains whether or not she'll be able to keep up the momentum. In the past, the North American swing proved to be a fruitless place for her but, at 23-years-old and now with two Grand Slam titles under her belt, it's possible that she has just reached a certain level of maturity in her game.
U.S. Open is the only Major left where she is yet to make an impact
Among all Grand Slam tournaments, the U.S. Open is the only place where Garbine Muguruza is yet to make it past the second round. There is a paradox regarding her relationship with this event. Back in 2012, she made it for the first time in the main draw of a Grand Slam at the U.S.
Open, but throughout the following years, she was never able to find any rhythm.
Currently ranked fourth in the world, Muguruza has plenty of room to improve before U.S. Open. Moreover, the rest of the pack seems a bit off with no one really claiming the lead. Up until the U.S. Open, some warm-up events are up ahead. Last year, she made an appearance in the Cincinnati (Premier 5) where she lost in the semis to the eventual champion Karolina Plsikova, the current world no. 1. At the 2016 U.S. Open, Muguruza's bid came to an end in round 64 where she lost to Anastasija Sevastova.
