Yahoo News 2020 Australian Open Day 10: Garbine Muguruza fights past Pavlyuchenkova to reach semifinals
This post will be updated with the latest action from Day 9 of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
It wasn’t easy early on, but Garbine Muguruza has reached the semifinals at the Australian Open.
Muguruza made it past No. 30 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets on Wednesday in a 93-minute match 7-5, 6-3 to advance to the final four. She fired 21 winners in the win and broke Pavlyuchenkova five times.
See you in the semis 👋@GarbiMuguruza
books a date with Halep in a first #AusOpen final four as she upends Pavlyuchenkova 7-5 6-3.#AO2020 pic.twitter.com/L5F3y5GKC8— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2020
Though it took Murguruza a while to get going in the first set, she fell down 2-1 before rallying to tie it up 4-4 in a nearly hour-long battle, the Spaniard turned it on in the second. She quickly jumped up to a 4-2 lead before sealing the match and putting the Russian away and reach the semifinals for the first time.
"Do you know who you play next?"
"I don't know"
Breaking the news to @GarbiMuguruza...#AusOpen | #AO2020 pic.twitter.com/sVExPMS48V— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2020
With the win, Muguruza will take on No. 4 Simona Halep. The Romanian reached the semifinals in dominant fashion, putting Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit away in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 in a match that lasted just 53 minutes.
“I played my best game on court, I felt strong in my game, strong in my legs,” Halep said, via The Guardian. “I worked a little bit more in the offseason — for the first time in my life I did the offseason away from home so I could be focused on what I have to do every day, no days off. That meant a lot for me and this year, I started very well and I am feeling much stronger than before.”
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