Former world No.2 Alex Corretja believes Garbine Muguruza has the upper hand heading into the women’s title match at the Australian Open on Saturday.
Muguruza, who is unseeded in the draw, will take on 21-year-old American Sofia Kenin. Who will be playing in her first ever grand slam final. The Spaniard has endured a revival in her form at the Melbourne major as she dropped just two sets in six matches played. Both of which was during the first two rounds. En route to the final, she has knocked out top 10 players Kiki Bertens, Elina Svitolina and Simona Halep.
“I’m feeling good.” Muguruza told reporters on Thursday. “I think I played many top-10 players in a row and got victories. It’s definitely a sign that my tennis is good.’
“I’m excited to have one more match here (in Melbourne), and hopefully get it.”
Looking ahead to the final, Corretja believes Muguruza’s previous experience gives her an advantage against Kenin. She won the 2016 French Open and 2017 Wimbledon Championships. Muguruza was also runner-up at Wimbledon back in 2015. However, the Spaniard lost to the world No.15 in their only previous meeting at the China Open last year. Kenin defeated world No.1 Ash Barty in her semi-final match.
“For Garbine, we’ve been talking about her a lot and I always trusted her because she has got the potential and it was just a matter of time before she got back the pieces of the puzzle.” Corretja said on Eurosport.
“She found them a few months ago, started working with Conchita (Martinez), it was good she worked hard in the off-season and then played a lot of matches before coming here. Even though she got ill, she was ready, if she didn’t have those kinds of matches before she got ill she would be panicking because she knew she was in good shape and she overcame it strongly.’
“I think Garbine showed she is aggressive, she is serving well, she’s going to try to dictate and put pressure on her opponents. Kenin can defend well, hit good groundstrokes and she’s also a good mover. But I am thinking considering Garbine has been there and she knows what it takes to deal with those emotions of a final, I give her the advantage.”
Coach Conchita Martinez admits that aggression will be key for Muguruza in the upcoming final. A former Australian Open finalist herself back in 1998, the 47-year-old reunited with her compatriot at the end of 2019 after working with Karolina Plskova. She previously worked with the former world No.1 between 2017-2018 and guided her to her only Wimbledon title.
“She is a great player, a very good fighter. She strikes the ball good. She is aggressive. So the key is going to be to stay with her, to stay aggressive, try to be the one in command.” Martinez said of Kenin.
“It’s not going to be easy, but hopefully she (Muguruza) can do it.”
Women’s grand slam tennis has been renowned for its unpredictability in recent years. 10 out of the last 12 major tournaments have been won by different players. During that period, Halep and Naomi Osaka are the only ones to have claimed multiple titles. At the Australian Open, the last woman to win back-to-back titles was Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and 2013.
Should Muguruza win the title in Melbourne Park on Saturday she would become the first Spanish woman in history to ever do so.
