For all of her apparent vulnerabilities, you cannot accuse Garbine Muguruza of shying away from the moment.
This is a player who is relishing a Centre Court date with Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final, yet admits to uncertainty on grass, battles with nerves and rigid superstitions which have to this point even kept her parents away from the All England Club.
It is a delightful contradiction, one that makes her both admirable and relatable all at once. The fans at SW19 have certainly embraced her – they cheered loudly as she jumped for joy following her 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 semi-final victory over Agnieszka Radwanska on Thursday.
Muguruza led by a set and 3-1 before Radwanska fought her way back by rattling off five games in a row to make it one set all. After trading early breaks in the decider, Muguruza won a decisive sixth game to go up 4-2 and served out the match soon afterwards.
The right-hander will be the first Spanish player to appear in the ladies' final at Wimbledon since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 1996. If she wins, she'll become the first Spanish ladies' champion since Conchita Martinez in 1994.
FINAL!!!!! QUIERO MAS! I WANT MORE! @Wimbledon #2015 pic.twitter.com/lLORUhCrRB
— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) July 9, 2015“It means a lot. You work all your life to achieve Grand Slam final, to be in this situation. It's like a dream, like a present after the hard work,” she said.
Something of an interloper in the final four among established stars Williams, Radwanska and Maria Sharapova, the Spaniard certainly did not look out of place. Her tournament to date has seen her oust the in-form 10th seed Angelique Kerber, world No.5 Caroline Wozniacki and the surging Timea Bacsinszky, a Roland Garros semi-finalist. A subsequent dip in level could have been expected, yet it was not the case against Radwanska.
It is somewhat surprising that her best Grand Slam result has come at Wimbledon. Muguruza, born in Venezuela and who trains in Spain, did not grow up playing on the surface, and feels more at home on clay, evidenced by her back-to-back runs to the French Open quarter-finals in 2014 and 2015. It has taken motivational texts from fellow Spaniard and 1994 champion, Martinez, to help Muguruza see that she can be a force on the lawns.
“We were laughing, you know, when the tournament started because I was like, Conchita, I'm not sure about grass,” she revealed. “She's like, 'Come on, you can play good.' She's just telling me every day, every match, keep going, you're doing great. Giving me power.
“I'm surprised because my two (grass-court) tournaments before (in) preparation (for Wimbledon), they were not so good. I didn't felt so good. So to be here in the final, it's like amazing... I grow so much mentally. I'm tougher now. Technically I also improve a lot. I'm stronger now. Also I learned more how to play on grass than before.”
Muguruza was irrepressible for the first set-and-a-half against Radwanska, and survived a fight-back from the Pole to close out the match strongly, sealing victory in a tense final game with a swinging forehand volley winner.
“I think I was 6-2, 3-1. I was like, 'What?' I was playing really good. I was like, 'Okay, wait.' You're the only one that can lose this match. I just get really nervous,” Muguruza admitted.
“And I think Radwanska, she was waiting for this moment. She was like, Okay, she's playing good. I'm going to wait to see if she can handle this situation. She did good. She fight. She won the second set. But I was, 'OK, be calm. You're playing against Agnieszka. It's going to be a tough match.' In the third, I could find a way, as in the first set, play more aggressive, lose the fear to win the match.”
If you want to win a Grand Slam, when you dream you say, 'I want Serena in the final'
A tactic in her toolbox for maintaining – or regaining – such focus and calm is her “poker face”. She said this stops her opponents being able to detect any sign of weakness.
Another is her superstitions.
“(My parents) asked me two days ago, We want to come (to Wimbledon). I said, 'No. Don't change anything.' I brush my teeth at the same time. I wake up with the same leg,” she laughed.
“I'm not going to change anything.”
It is a routine that so far has not failed her in what is a career-best result. The 21-year-old, currently ranked No.20, stands to break into the top 10 with her finals appearance at Wimbledon and rise to No.6 if she wins the whole thing.
Waiting on the other side of the net on Saturday will be arguably the game’s greatest ever female player in Williams. Someone who has her eye simultaneously set on three massive achievements – a Serena Slam, a calendar Grand Slam, and Steffi Graf’s professional-era record of 22 majors. One would be achieved and two would come tantalisingly close should the world No.1 win the trophy.
It sets the stage for one of the more monumental Grand Slam finals in recent memory. And Muguruza is ready.
“I think it’s the best final you can play. To have Serena in the Wimbledon final I think is the hardest match you can have,” she said.
“If you want to win a Grand Slam, when you dream you say, 'I want Serena in the final.'”
