Garbine Muguruza is attempting to move a step closer to the career Grand Slam when she takes on rising star Sofia Kenin in the Australian Open women’s singles final and former champion Justine Henin is tipping the Spaniard for glory.
Muguruza’s transformation into a player once more capable of contending for the biggest titles has been one of the stories of the tournament. The Spaniard – who won the 2016 French Open and Wimbledon 2017 – had looked a little lost at times during 2019 as her form and ranking plummeted and arrived in Melbourne Park unseeded.
But since reuniting with former coach Conchita Martinez during the off season, she has been reborn, reeling off wins over top-10 players Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens and Simona Halep, and Henin believes her previous experience of Grand Slam finals will prove crucial on Saturday.
“Muguruza is clearly going to be the favourite because the level she’s shown during the whole tournament is quite impressive,” said 2004 champion Henin, a new addition to Eurosport’s team of experts at the Australian Open.
“Emotionally, she knows how to handle this. Dealing with the emotions is something really important, and when you’ve already had the chance to do that in the past, it helps.”
But it isn’t just Muguruza’s head for the big occasions which Henin believes will prove decisive. The Spaniard is known to the tennis world as a powerful hitter, but the Belgian legend was particularly impressed by her tactical awareness in her semifinal against Halep.
“I need to see the tactics to enjoy a match, and Muguruza is interesting because she can come to the net, she is using her shots really effectively,” she said.
“She’s more of an attacking player for sure, but she also adjusts herself to the game. She served very well when she had to, and I like the way she went to the net against Halep to really force her destiny in the match.”
At the same time, Kenin cannot be counted out. The 21-year-old has shown immense belief throughout the tournament and an ability to produce her best tennis under pressure, most notably during her battling three set win over Coco Gauff in the last 16, and in coming from behind in both sets to beat top seed Ash Barty in the semifinals.
While the more experienced Barty faltered at the key moments in their match – missing two set points in the first set tiebreak and losing a 5-3 second set lead, Henin noted the way Kenin kept finding ways to put her in uncomfortable positions.
“It was amazing, the way she was waiting for the good opportunities,” Henin said.
“When she was going backhand to backhand, it was with angle. She didn’t want Barty to be feeling good with her slice, and she pushed her in a certain way, not being able to play this kind of shot, and she really took the rhythm from her. Now she’s going to enter another dimension, it’s a Grand Slam final, so she will have more expectations in the coming months and we will see how she deals with it.”
However, when it comes to the crunch, Henin is tipping Muguruza for victory.
“Kenin impressed me with the way she dealt with the situation against Barty because it’s the first time she played a Grand Slam semifinal,” said Henin.
“She doesn’t try to do anything she can’t do, it’s not a really powerful game but she uses her qualities. She has a good vision of the court, she has good hands with the drop shot and the lob, it’s something we can see a lot with her. Is it going to be enough against Muguruza in the final? I don’t think so, but who knows?”