She was one behind Steffi Graf’s Open era record of 22 slam titles, and it appeared a given that Williams would soon match, and then pass, the German’s record.
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Cape Town – Defending champion Serena Williams could face Heather Watson and Roberta Vinci en route to the final of the Wimbledon Championship this year, which begins on Monday (June 27).
Waiting for her in this section is UK’s own Heather Watson who almost beat Williams when they met at Wimbledon previous year. The newly crowned French Open victor and No. 2 seed proved she has the game to win on grass after reaching last year’s Wimbledon final. It was a quick transition from soggy red clay to the sunny Spanish grass courts, but the week in Mallorca finally gave Muguruza a chance to let her Roland Garros triumph settle in. Previous year she rolled through a hard draw that included wins over Caroline Wozniacki, Timea Bacsinszky, Angelique Kerber, and Agnieszka Radwanska to make her first major final. As she walked in for her pre-tournament press conference on Saturday, Muguruza could not shake a look of wide-eyed wonder.
Sam Stosur, the world No.16 who was beaten by Muguruza in the French Open semifinals in a little over an hour, said: “I was quite impressed with the way she played against me, so I wasn’t surprised that she was able to continue that form and win the title”. But it’s more likely Williams will face No. 31 seed Kristina Mladenovic of France in the third round. “When I was younger, a lot of people were saying, I think you will play good on grass”.
Muguruza’s run to the Wimbledon final past year was a shock – not just to those in the press box, but to Garbiñe herself. “I think she puts extra pressure on herself when it’s a milestone major”. However, the Belarusian managed to earn two major titles, Miami and India Wells and another title this year.
No. 4 seed Angelique Kerber is hoping to bounce back after crashing out in the first round of Paris.
“Not as great as I want it to be”, Williams said when asked to assess her year so far. I’m awful. In time, I agree.
Muguruza gets a potentially tricky opening round against the always streaky Camila Giorgi of Italy. But I don’t feel yet [it] is my comfort zone. Several more unseeded yet risky players lurk in this section including former finalist Sabine Lisicki and Yaroslava Shvedova.
Whether Muguruza has had enough time practicing on the grass remains to be seen.
Her powerful game is ideally suited to grass, while the pain of her losses in finals to Kerber and Muguruza will surely provide plentiful motivation. “It’s like sometimes I’m too tall, I don’t know, (I) feel weird sometimes”.
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“For sure, people with me are more looking at what I’m doing, will be more watching me”, she said. I like it. I’ll try to do my best.
