Muguruza backing Halep for French Open glory

World number one Simona Halep is the favourite to win the French Open final, according to beaten last-four opponent Garbine Muguruza.

Published : Jun 08, 2018 01:22 IST

Garbine Muguruza believes Simona Halep will break her Grand Slam duck in the final of the French Open, the world number one having proved too strong for the Wimbledon champion in their semi-final.

Halep outclassed Muguruza 6-1 6-4 at Roland Garros on Thursday to book her second straight appearance in the French Open final.

Although the Romanian has lost on her three previous appearances in grand slam finals, Muguruza thinks she will break her duck on Saturday – when she faces Sloane Stephens.

"It's her third finals in Roland Garros, and she has a great level," Muguruza told reporters.

"She played very well against me. I don't know what rival she will have in the finals. But apart from being number one, she's also the favourite for this tournament.

"I think that today I had an opponent who is playing very well, very few free points, and my play was not so effective as in the previous matches.

"It's the match in Roland Garros where I played the worst. It was an important match, and she was aggressive right from the start. She played very well right from the onset, and that's the result."

World number three Muguruza now turns her attention towards defending her Wimbledon title.

"I will play a tournament before to prepare myself," the Spaniard said. "Well, there are just two tournaments on grass, and I will try to be in shape for Wimbledon. It's a very difficult surface. I was very successful on grass, so let's see what happens. 

"Grass is very unpredictable. I'm always going there and let's see what happens this year. So, you know, I feel overall that these two weeks have been great, so of course it pumps up a little bit the energy to keep it up. So, yeah, I'm excited for the grass.

"I feel like grass and clay, there are differences that you can use. So I'm happy to change the surface, because I think in hard court it's just everybody plays good. Everything, it's more equal.

"So when I can play on clay court and grass, I don't know, I feel excited that everybody has ups and downs or you see a little bit more. I think it's going to be interesting."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment