Simona Halep vs Garbiñe Muguruza (1-6, 0-6)
It wasn’t a battle. It was a massacre.
Garbiñe Muguruza entered the Cincinnati Masters final as the slight online betting underdog against Simona Halep who was looking to get to the top of the rankings. However, she didn’t mind the betting tips backing the Romanian as she blitzed her way to a total annihilation of the World No.2.
It wasn’t that surprising that Muguruza won the match, but it’s the way she did it and how Halep performed that shocked the online gambling community.
The 23-year-old Spaniard took only 56 minutes to finish Halep, and she never really gave her opponent a chance as she controlled the match throughout.
Muguruza pinned Halep to the baseline with her precise and aggressive tennis, and it all went her way as she moved 4-1 up in the first set before closing it out with domination.
The second set was the same, with the exception of a long seven-deuce game in which Halep tried to find her way back; but Muguruza proved to be too hot and powerful as the 25-year-old Halep was left with no other choice but defend and wait for her eventual demise.
Halep indeed was never in the match and the drop in her level of play was obvious, with her forehand – considered to be her best offensive option – not clicking at all. Her second serve wasn’t also there, winning only 11 percent.
She didn’t lose a single set prior to the final, but her game just fell apart and even her coach struggled to think of a way she can do to get back and make it a fight.
“When I feel on court that I got dominated a little bit – I felt that I cannot control the points – and that’s maybe why I got a little big down in my confidence,” Halep said.
This defeat marks the third time that Halep failed to reach No.1 this season. She was just one win away in the French Open and Wimbledon, but she squandered those opportunities as well.
For Muguruza, this title is her first in the US and second of the year, following her Wimbledon triumph last month. Also, with the win, she established herself as a contender for the upcoming US Open.
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