Australian Open: Garbine Muguruza eyes third major peak

Garbine Muguruza climbed Kilimanjaro in the off-season, she now stands on the cusp of a third major tennis peak.

Garbine Muguruza celebrates after beating Simona Halep in the Australian Open semi-final. Picture: AFP

Having climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in the off season as she sought to reboot her career, Garbine Muguruza has taken impressive strides towards returning to the summit of world tennis over the past fortnight.

The former world No 1 will play Sofia Kenin in Saturday’s Australian Open final after edging reigning Wimbledon champion Simona Halep 7-6 (8) 7-5 in a gruelling semi-final lasting 2hr 5min.

Kenin had earlier upset Australia’s world No 1 Ash Barty 7-6 (6) 7-5 to reach her first grand slam final as the temperature in Melbourne neared 40C on Thursday.

Muguruza served for the opening set at 5-3 but was forced to save four set points in the tiebreaker before seizing the advantage.

The 26-year-old Spaniard then demonstrated poise to overcome a 5-3 deficit in the second set, reeling off the last four games in a strong finish.

“Luckily I have 48 hours now to recover and get ready for the last match,” Muguriza said.

“We train all of our career to be able to play on this court and in (front of) this crowd. I’m very excited to be in the final.’’

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It is Muguruza’s first Australian Open final, with the Spaniard attempting to join Serena Williams in 2007 and Chris O’Neil in 1978 as the only unseeded champions in the Open era. The last unseeded player to win a major title was Jelena Ostapenko at Roland Garros in 2017. That Muguruza, who is unseeded at a major for the first time since 2104, would find herself in this position seems remarkable given her talent and credentials.

She looked like becoming a dominant player on tour when she won the French Open in 2016 and followed that up with the Wimbledon title a year later. But she has tended to be a boom or bust player, rather than someone capable of sustained excellence.

Muguruza was beaten in the first round at Wimbledon and also at the US Open last year.

After dropping the first set of her opening-round clash against Shelby Rogers 6-0, she looked likely to be an early casualty in Melbourne. But the all-court player, who is based in Geneva, has dropped only one more set for the tournament, that occurring against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round.

She is now just a win away on Saturday from claiming her third of the four grand slam trophies.

Kenin defeated Muguruza in their only previous meeting in China in three sets last year but is mindful that the two-time major winner can produce magical tennis at her peak.

Muguruza remains uncertain exactly what impact climbing Kilimanjaro had on her career but she is certain it was “a life-changing experience”.

“It definitely had an impact on me, not as a tennis player, but just in general,” she said.

“Being through such a tough challenge, I think, did many things inside of me.”