Garbiñe Muguruza powers into the French Open final
The fourth seed made light work of 2010 runner-up Samantha Stosur in Paris on Friday, sweeping to a 6-2, 6-4 win to reach her second Grand Slam.
Garbiñe Muguruza powered into the French Open final on Friday with a mostly comfortable straight sets win over Samantha Stosur. The Wimbledon runner-up preyed on the Stosur delivery, winning 18 of 29 points on the Australian's second serve to sweep past the world number 24, a player who blows hot and cold perhaps more than any other. In the chill wind on Suzanne Lenglen under another leaden Parisian sky, the Australian failed to find an answer to the Spaniard’s hammering ground strokes, which led to 13 forced errors from Stosur's racket.
Stosur’s incredible fitness and spin-heavy forehands have accounted for some of the best in the game, particularly when she outgunned Serena Williams to claim the 2011 US Open title. This year in Paris, the 2010 runner-up scored a remarkable reverse over world number six Simona Halep, who had thrashed Stosur in Madrid in their most recent previous meeting.
But Stosur wilted against the maelstrom of Muguruza’s heavy hitting in the first set, succumbing 6-2 as the Spanish world number four landed a fair percentage of her first serves. In total, Stosur managed just six points on return against Muguruza's first serve, with her opponent bludgeoning 13 overall.
The second set appeared to be unfolding to the same script when Muguruza assumed a 5-2 lead and was serving for the match but a combination of nerves from one racket and tenacity from the other extended Stosur’s stay on court for three more games.
The Australian broke and held to pull back to 4-5 as Muguruza’s shots became more wayward but the fourth seed eventually stayed her hand to serve out for the match and a 6-2, 6-4 victory to reach her first Roland Garros final, also becoming the first Spanish woman to do so since Conchita Martínez in 2000.