Garbine Muguruza is one of those few names around which the future hopes of women's tennis stand. A French Open champion last year and the runner-up of 2015 Wimbledon Championships, Muguruza has been struggling to maintain an elevated pace lately. Failing to defend her crown at the French Open threw her outside the top 10 subsequently giving her a harsh draw at Wimbledon.
Residing in the first quarter of the draw, Muguruza shared battlefield with the world no. 1 Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The third round match put her in front of a traumatized Romanian. Sorana Cirstea is the one who stood on the other side of the net confronting Bethanie Mattek Sands in what turned out to be a live horror.
Garbine Muguruza seems flawless at Wimbledon
Advancing to the fourth round and the second week of the third Major of the season saw Garbine Muguruza putting in the right ingredients. She is yet to drop a set during this Wimbledon as she smoothly navigated past Ekaterina Alexandrova, Yanina Wickmayer, and Sorana Cirstea.
Last year, while trying to surpass Serena Williams at the top of the ranking she failed to get past the second round at Wimbledon.
It was Jana Cepelova who delivered a strong performance against the Spanish player.
Ranked 15th in the world at the moment, she has a massive chance to improve her ranking. With so little to defend from last year, now, her ranking can only grow. So far, the current season has been a nightmare for Muguruza who is yet to win a single title. Her season started well with a presence in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Muguruza and her projected trajectory towards the higher stages at Wimbledon
The fourth round session will put oppose Muguruza and Angelique Kerber. The German who is still the world no. 1 will try to hang at the top but she must defend last year result. If she downs Kerber, 2015 finalist could bump into Agnieszka Radwanska.
The Polish player seems to regain her pace on the grass courts at Wimbledon and she will face Svetlana Kuznetsova next.If she reaches the semis, Muguruza's opponent is a wild guess at the moment.
Having Caroline Wozniacki as the highest surviving seed could create some unexpected villain. Karolina Pliskova's unexpected exit disrupted the balance within the second quarter of the women's draw. Muguruza needs a big result in order to turn the season in her favor. Overall, the numbers of this year put her in the average compartment. Her win/ loss ratio was 23/13 entering Wimbledon.