Garbiñe Muguruza’s state-hopping summer stay in the US has been nothing if not memorable, and not only on account of a spiky fourth-round defeat to Barbora Krejcikova at the US Open. There was the three-set reversal against the Czech in Cincinnati that preceded it, for starters. More recently, there was a visit to Wisconsin for the Ryder Cup, a brief but welcome respite from the cut and thrust of the WTA Tour.
This week, meanwhile, has brought the strangest of runs at the inaugural Chicago Fall Classic, where Muguruza arrived hoping to fine-tune her game before Indian Wells only to reach the final via a route that included a bye and two walkovers, first against Victoria Azarenka in the last 16 and then when Marketa Vondrousova was forced to pull out with food poisoning.
As Muguruza makes her final push for a place at the season-ending WTA Finals in Guadalajara, she will not care a jot about the circumstances surrounding her second title of the season. In recovering from a set and a break down to avenge her Wimbledon defeat to Ons Jabeur, the Spaniard improved her ranking by three places to sixth, vastly improving her chances of claiming one of the eight spots available in Guadalajara. For now, that is all that matters.
“That was a battle, especially those first sets,” said the 27-year-old following her 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory. “We’ve played recently, this year at Wimbledon, and it was a very tough match, and I knew that she’s having one of the best seasons that a player can have. I was prepared, I went out there with all the fighting spirit in the pocket.”
Such resolve was much needed. Jabeur has a game almost tailor-made to give Muguruza problems, the Tunisian’s singular blend of power and touch allowing her not only to keep pace with the former word No 1 from the back of the court but also to bewitch and bewilder with an array of different spins, drop shots and angles. Muguruza was drawn into Jabeur’s intricately constructed web at Wimbledon, and needed all her considerable experience and resilience to avoid a similar fate here.
Muguruza was offered an early reminder of what lay ahead when Jabeur teased her forward with an artful drop shot only to leave her stranded with an exquisitely judged lob volley. Panache then gave way to potency as the Tunisian rifled a backhand winner to seize a love break for 3-1. It was all the advantage Jabeur would need. She secured the opener with another drop shot, a faded effort that spun away viciously from the scrambling Muguruza, and looked set fair for a second WTA title when some more bold hitting earned her an early break in set two.
As history has demonstrated, however, things are rarely straightforward between these two. They had split their previous two meetings, the winner of the first set losing out on both occasions, and when Jabeur sprayed a forehand wide to drop serve for the first time, a repeat of that pattern slowly started to take hold. Jabeur, helped on her way by a stunning forehand pass that was boisterously acclaimed by the vociferous Tunisian contingent in the stands, broke again in the fifth game. But having belatedly gained a foothold, Muguruza was in no mood simply to relinquish her interest in the contest. Returning with power and purpose, she dug in, staying in the rallies long enough to profit from some loose play by Jabeur, and once more reclaimed the break at the first time of asking.
Now the tide began to shift. As the mistakes mounted for Jabeur – having made just three unforced errors in the opening set, she would go on to make a dozen in the second – Muguruza pounced in the eighth game to move 5-3 ahead. Four set points came and went for the Spaniard – who, having led 40-0, was forced to save two break points – before she levelled the match. A brief rain delayed followed, but Muguruza had established a momentum she would not relinquish. As the Spaniard’s strokes and movement began to flow, so too did her confidence. Jabeur would not win another game.
“She was playing amazing in the first set, and my level was not at what it should be to play against her,” said Muguruza, who also won the Dubai Championships in March. “I slowly found a space in the second set to break and to get that one, and force a decider. That gave me the extra confidence I needed, and also the energy to go and get the trophy.”
For Jabeur, who has now amassed a tour-leading 44 wins this year, it was another week to remember in a season that has been full of them. She is up to 14th in the rankings, tantalisingly close to her dream of a place in the world’s top 10, and has her sights firmly set on a place at the WTA Finals, where she would be the first Arab woman to make the cut.
“The main goal is to qualify for Guadalajara,” said Jabeur following her semi-final win over Elena Rybakina, who was forced to retire with gastrointestinal problems midway through the second set.
“It’s a dream coming true. It’s something big. Knowing that I can be the first Arab to qualify, it’s unbelievable. It’s more stress on me but I really made my peace with it. I’m going to do my best.”