LONDON—Garbine Muguruza, who has reached the final at Wimbledon, says that her confidence is finally back.
Since winning the 2016 French Open, the Spaniard has been unable to win another tournament. But recently, the 23-year-old has stopped her skid and begun to play substantially better, reaching the semis at Rome, the round of 16 in Paris and the semis in Birmingham.
During Wimbledon, she beat top seed Angelique Kerber and two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, and says she is using her experience better.
“I think just knowing how to deal with these important matches. That's the toughest part,” Muguruza said. “Knowing that you got there, you're playing quarterfinals of Wimbledon, that is the match you want to go and play and win. It's also a combination of not being too anxious, not being too nervous—try to free your mind, just try to concentrate on the tennis part, not about everything else.”
Muguruza reached the final two years ago at Wimbledon, defeating Caroline Wozniacki, Kerber and Agnieszka Radwanska before losing against Serena Williams.
Muguruza says that she is now calmer on the court.
“I think I've been working on that since a long time. Before I was more emotional,” Muguruza said. “I was showing more emotions on the court. Now I'm trying to handle it better. That's experience. The year I made final here, I felt like I was a completely different player. Now I maybe feel more solid mentally, going out there knowing what to do. It's with experience.”
She defeated Magdalena Rybarikova in the semifinals on Thursday.
