Muguruza finds her winning form in Doha, with boosts

DOHA — Garbine Muguruza won her quarterfinal match and is into the Qatar Total Open final.

That’s not a typo.

On Friday, Simona Halep was forced to withdraw with a right foot injury after beating CiCi Bellis, 6-0, 6-4.

“It's tough to withdraw in the semis. I think it's first time when I do this,” Halep said. “It's a great tournament, beautiful place. I play great tennis. So it's very tough to stop because of the injury, but I have to, and I pushed enough myself this two months.”

Earlier in the day, Muguruza was the first Doha semifinalist through with a three-set comeback win over Caroline Garcia. It marked the Spaniard’s first dropped set in Doha, a place she’s rediscovering her winning ways after a dismal start to 2018 (she was 3-3 going into this week, with two of those losses left unfinished).

“That's why I came here looking for as many matches as possible and facing the top players, and especially [since] at the beginning of the year it wasn't [going] my way,” Muguruza said. “Now I can turn things around and feel better.”

The two-time Grand Slam champion had a simple mindset going into the stacked Premier 5.

“I want to feel that I'm competing and I'm healthy, and I think that's really enough.”

It helps that, despite the intense draw, the Arabian Gulf city is calm place to play without very much distraction or stress. It also may help that she’s got fresh eyes and a familiar face in her box in Conchita Martinez.

Muguruza gets an unexpected day of rest before the final on Sunday. Perhaps she'll take another visit to some of Doha's local sites?

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