“I don’t know. When you feel the heat that makes you a little bit, like, down kind of, you know”, Muguruza said. For whatever reason, it is more complicated, just because it’s more a big city, huge city, huge everything.
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While it might not require divine intervention, Muguruza’s record at the year’s final grand slam indicates she will need to produce something special, having never ventured beyond the second round in three previous visits to Flushing Meadows.
Muguruza’s route through the draw may have become a little easier after Olympic champion Monica Puig, an outside favourite for the title and in her quarter, bowed out in the first round.
Reaching the final could see her overtake Williams but Muguruza said the prospect of becoming number one did not add pressure.
Second seed Angelique Kerber is also through after her opponent Polona Hercog retired injured while last year’s finalist in New York, Roberta Vinci, beat Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam in straight sets. Someone that, I don’t know, has reached the last rounds of the tournaments or, you know, the important moments every time you go to a tournament, you believe, Maybe I can do it again. “I don’t even know what I have to do, I’m not really thinking about that”.
“I felt there’s more movement, more noise, more stuff. You kind of see a little bit during the match how she plays, but you can not know anything before”.
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“I think it’s also special”. Muguruza experienced a quick let-down when she lost in the second round at Wimbledon after her Paris triumph but said she has been working hard on all areas of her game. Belinda Bencic won her first match since Wimbledon against Samantha Crawford as the Swiss player came back from a set down to end her losing streak of five matches. “I think I’m improving a lot of my fitness, getting stronger, getting more experience”.
