Muguruza relieved to end trophy drought with Dubai win

Garbine Muguruza was relieved to finally avoid tripping at the last hurdle and end her trophy drought in Dubai.

Published : Mar 14, 2021 14:25 IST

Garbine Muguruza leads the WTA tour with 18 victories during the 2021 season.
Garbine Muguruza leads the WTA tour with 18 victories during the 2021 season.
lightbox-info

Garbine Muguruza leads the WTA tour with 18 victories during the 2021 season.

Former World No. 1 Garbine Muguruza was relieved to finally avoid tripping at the last hurdle and end her trophy drought on Saturday in Dubai, the Spaniard's first WTA singles title in almost two years.

The 27-year-old Muguruza had last won a tournament at Monterrey, Mexico, in April, 2019. Since then she reached the title rounds at the 2020 Australian Open, Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne in February and last week's event in Doha. “It means a lot, it's never easy to win titles,” Muguruza told reporters after her 7-6 (6), 6-3 win over Czech Barbora Krejcikova.

“It doesn’t happen often, and I’m excited that it happened now, after a few finals that didn’t go my way. A nice relief to be able to hold a champion's trophy and not the finalist’s trophy.”

The strongly built Spaniard won her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 2016 and bagged her second at Wimbledon the following year to climb to the top of the women's rankings. She is ranked 16th but leads the WTA tour with 18 victories during the 2021 season.

‘A real proof’

“Definitely it helps the confidence having a trophy under your belt,” Muguruza said. “It’s a sign, a real proof that you’re playing well, that you’re doing the right things. But I’ve always been very determined in that way and believed in myself. I always believe every time I go out there that I’m one of the players that can get the trophy ... and I’ve always believed that in good moments and in bad moments.”

Muguruza said the last two weeks have been mentally challenging for her after her coach, Conchita Martinez, tested positive for the new coronavirus after arriving in Doha for the Qatar Open.

Playing 10 straight matches was also physically very demanding.

“Very hard nowadays because I feel like the level is much stronger,” said Muguruza. “I feel really everybody can win a tournament. This is how hard women’s tennis is now and very happy that I managed to, for two weeks, reach the last match.”

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