Former Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska has talked about talented 22-year-old Garbine Muguruza ahead of the WTA end of year finals in Singapore.
Radwanska, who will be playing in the year-end tournament for the seventh time in her career, spoke to the media in Singapore about the youngest player in the tournament, Muguruza. The Pole has played Muguruza four times this year, losing all of them. Her quartet of losses is a sharp contrast to her 2014 Australian Open match against the Spaniard, where she dropped just four games. Radwanska said that the 22-year-old made ‘huge progress’ last year and admitted that players will need to be playing at their best to beat her.
“She is a very powerful player, very solid pretty much on every surface”. Radwanska said.
“She really has great potential to play. She will have so many chances here in Singapore. To beat her, you really have to play your best game. She’s really not giving any points for free”.
In 2015 Muguruza became the first Spanish woman to reach a Grand Slam final for 15 years and claimed her first WTA Premier title at the China Open. Her breakthrough season has elevated Muguruza to 4th in the world, her career best. The success of Muguruza hasn’t surprised Radwanska, who expects the 22-year-old to be at the top of the game for the next few years.
“It doesn’t really surprise me that she’s right here. She is definitely going to be on top for the next couple years, that’s for sure”. She said.
Discussing the high expectations placed upon her, Muguruza told reporters in Singapore that she has learnt a lot since reaching the final at Wimbledon. She has also played down the chances of her winning the tournament.
“I have played really well this month and hopefully I can continue to do so, but I don’t know. The first time, sometimes it’s hard to deal with so let’s just see what happens.” Muguruza said.
Radwanska will not play Muguruza in the round robin stage due to both players being in different draws (Radwanska is in the Red Group and Muguruza is in the White Group). Going into the end of year tournament Radwanska has more wins than Muguruza but also more losses. The world No.6 has a win-loss of 43-23 compared to Muguruza’s 38-18.
