Wuhan, China — Garbine Muguruza may be struggling with results and has taken another hit in her bid to qualify for the WTA Finals with her opening defeat in Wuhan, but the Spaniard insists there is no need to panic.
The world No3, who fell to Jelena Jankovic in the Wuhan second round on Tuesday, is yet to secure her spot in the top-eight season finale in Singapore, and she is currently at No6 in the race, despite having won a grand slam this year, worth 2,000 valuable points.
Outside her Roland Garros breakthrough title, which she captured last June, Muguruza has made only two semi-finals this season and has amassed just a 30-16 win-loss record. World No1 Angelique Kerber is 55-15 in comparison, winning three titles from seven finals.
But the 22-year-old Muguruza is not concerning herself by her rivals’ accomplishments and is choosing to cut herself some slack.
“I think everybody has their own good stuff. Maybe one is super consistent. Maybe one can play better, I don’t know, in a few tournaments. Someone can be in quarter-finals every tournament. Someone only one. Everybody has their own stuff. I can’t compare me with Angie (Kerber). It’s another type of everything,” said the Spaniard following her loss in Wuhan.
She added: “I feel I’ve been playing tennis forever because I started very young. But I feel I have to take it easy. I feel like me also, ‘Garbine, you’re 22. Who was the last girl that won a grand slam at 22? Relax, it’s not the end of the world. You don’t need to win now everything’. I feel relaxed.
“I need my time. I have to be patient. I don’t have to do anything really. I have to realise that and it doesn’t matter if I win here in Wuhan, I lose or in Beijing. Patience. Because I feel like there is a lot of spotlight on me. I mean, relax.”
Muguruza's 2016 tournaments by number of matches won:
— Oleg S. (@AnnaK_4ever) September 27, 2016
7 wins — 1 trn
3 wins — 2 trns
2 wins — 4 trns
1 win — 5 trns
0 wins — 5 trns
Muguruza says her high-risk style of play takes time to come together and that she’s pleased with herself if she is being aggressive, even if she’s hitting “to the fence”.
Her coach, Sam Sumyk, agrees, and was happy with her performance against Jankovic, despite the defeat.
“I like what I’ve seen, I really have no problem with that match, apart from the disappointment of losing,” said the French coach. “I liked her bravery, she was trying to control the rallies. I love how she tried to go and get the match. Many people will not understand but I prefer to be in this situation, Garbine going for the shots instead of running like a rabbit and defending all the time.”
Since Garbine Muguruza won the French Open in June, her record is 8-7 https://t.co/QVvR03nXZT
— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) September 27, 2016
Muguruza looked like she was finding it difficult to breathe at times during the match with Jankovic and the Spaniard later explained how this seems to be a recurring issue.
“I was dead. I was like (catching her breath). The points were so long and so intense. I think a combination. When you’re nervous and tense, it’s also hard for me to breathe. I’ve noticed it a little bit also in the US Open. In couple tournaments I feel it’s harder for me to breathe,” confessed Muguruza.
Asked if she felt like she has a plan B, when her big shots are not paying off and going long, Muguruza said: “I think I’m a player that has a lot of ways to play, very aggressive, it’s not only that I just bang the ball and it goes. I think I’m a player that takes a lot of risks.
“Sometimes I have to play with the errors kind of. I have to really accept. I miss the ball, doesn’t matter, I go for the next one, even if I miss again. That’s the way I want to feel. That’s my plan.”
A barefoot Muguruza leaves the Wuhan press conference room (Credit: Visual China Group)
Muguruza is convinced she must stick to her style of play, even if she is losing matches, and she has faith it will eventually paid off. It certainly has paid off before, whether en route to the French Open title this year, or the Wimbledon final last season.
“Obviously, everybody is thinking about the result. Me also. I’m the one that goes to play and wants to win. In the end I know in the back of my mind there’s a certain way I have to play and I got to follow this line,” she says.
“Even though I’m going to lose a couple of matches, but I know eventually I’ll get the few little things to connect and work.”
