Muguruza becomes even bigger favorite for US Open crown

Garbine Muguruza might finally be ready to eclipse her rivals and take over the WTA. She squeaked by Madison Keys, battled through Svetlana Kuznetsova, outshined world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova and walloped Simona Halep to win Cincinnati.

Last year, the Spaniard won the French Open final over Serena Williams, and it seemed she was ready to be a consistent big winner on tour. Instead, she struggled through a feeble rest of the season.

After a disappointing clay-court season in 2017, Muguruza put doubt behind her once again by winning Wimbledon. Suddenly, she’s the hottest player on the tour, winning big matches and establishing herself as the clear favorite to win the US Open.

“(Muguruza) has won two major titles, but she may never have played better, more intelligent, more consistent, more resilient tennis than she did this week in Cincinnati,” Tennis.com's Steve Tignor writes.

There is Muguruza’s backhand, steady as a wall and lethal on big points.

The world No. 3 also shown more composure when her opponents make a charge. During the back-and-forth trial of the fourth game in the second set on Sunday, Muguruza survived some of Halep’s best shots, shrugged off her own mistakes and finally sprinted away with the match.

Just a few months ago, few could have imagined that Muguruza would relish big-match tension, but her confidence is soaring.

Surprisingly, the 23-year-old has never made it past the second round in New York (though she's played it just four times), but a great run or title could push her to No. 1.