Exhaustion looms over Muguruza

SINGAPORE — Garbine Muguruza is used to strolling to victory in Singapore, but today (Oct 30) was the first time her walk betrayed a little limp.

Shoulders slumped while she gingerly exited the Singapore Indoor Stadium court, no thanks to a bruising 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win over ­Petra Kvitova in a BNP Paribas WTA ­Finals match that took more than two-and-a-half hours, the Spaniard barely had enough strength left to raise her arm to acknowledge the cheering fans. Her smile was one of joy mixed with relief that she made it through to the knockout stages, yet her expression hinted at trepidation at what lies ahead in the semi-finals.

The first obstacle: Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska — an opponent she has beaten four times already this season. No sweat, right? But it is the second hurdle that Muguruza is most worried about: Exhaustion.

Unlike the rest of her competitors, the 22-year-old has been unable to enjoy a rest day. Her participation in the doubles competition with compatriot Carla Suarez Navarro — the duo have qualified for the semis after topping their group — means she has played every single day since the tournament started last Sunday.

This throws up the intriguing prospect of Muguruza potentially playing four matches — two semi-­finals and two finals — over the next two days. And with signs of fatigue evident in her game against Kvitova, Muguruza admitted she is worried about the physical challenges facing her going into the final stretch of the WTA Finals. “For sure I’m tired, and it’s going to be a challenge for me to see how much my body can handle, because now I don’t have a day off,” she said post-match today. “I mean, it’s great to be in my position, to be playing singles and doubles semi-finals, but it’s going to be hard. So I have to recover well and do everything possible to be ready for both matches. I think when the tournament starts, I’m really focused on it. It’s just one week of concentration, because then I’ll have time off after the tournament.”

The need for Muguruza to take a rest was further exacerbated by today’s hard-fought slugfest against Kvitova. While it was the first time both players had met each other on court, Kvitova claimed she always had the measure of her Spanish opponent, but was ultimately let down by a careless slip-up. “Each set was really up and down, and then she was really going forward, going to push the opponent a lot, which was what I was trying as well,” the Czech Republic star said. “I know what she’s playing, what to expect, although it was slightly surprising that she hit the backhands down the line often. I think the serves and returns weren’t that strong today from both of us, and I just felt that I shouldn’t have made that mistake in the last game when she was serving at 5-4. That was probably the thing which was disappointing for me.”

Despite the defeat, Kvitova still managed to progress to the semi-finals, after compatriot Lucie Safarova defeated German Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-3 in the later match.

Kerber, who needed to secure at least a set to reach the semis, was left chasing shadows as the Czech powered to victory in just 86min. An easy win to end an easy day. But Muguruza would beg to differ. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AMANPREET SINGH