Kvitova takes down Muguruza to reach US Open quarterfinals
The US Open favorite has been toppled.
Petra Kvitova ousted reigning Wimbledon champion and world No. 3 Garbine Muguruza in the fourth round Sunday night, winning 7-6 (3), 6-3 with a blistering display of power tennis.
Muguruza came into the match on an absolute tear, having won 11 straight sets - losing three games or fewer in nine of them - which encompassed a title in Cincinnati. But in a matchup of two of the game's most explosive baseliners, Kvitova ultimately proved too much for Muguruza, her relentless depth and pace preventing the Spaniard from imposing her will in the rallies.
Muguruza typically thrives by playing attacking tennis, but Kvitova kept her pinned in the back of the court. Muguruza managed to work her way to net just nine times, and, most damningly, hit just five winners off the ground. The racket was snatched from her hand.
That's not to say she didn't have her opportunities. The momentum swings in the match were fast, furious, and dizzying. Muguruza grabbed the first break and surged to a 4-1 lead in the opening set, while Kvitova struggled to find the range on her groundstrokes. Kvitova then came roaring back, leveling things at 4-all as a shellshocked Muguruza's forehand started to break down. At 5-all, Muguruza got broken from 30-0. Serving for the set at 6-5, Kvitova got broken right back.
In the tiebreaker, Muguruza went up 3-2, then lost five straight points amidst a hail of unforced errors, including a double-fault and an absolutely gutting volley attempt that sailed past a wide-open court and landed just south of the baseline.
Muguruza rebounded to break Kvitova in the opening game of the second set, but then she got broken right back, and then got broken again, and she was playing catch-up from there. It looked like there might be one last twist in store - after saving a match point on her own service game to hold for 3-5, Muguruza had three chances to break and get back on serve - but Kvitova finally closed it out when Muguruza sailed one last forehand.
The loss dampens Muguruza's hopes of taking over the No. 1 ranking, though she still has a good chance. She needs Elina Svitolina to lose before the semis and incumbent No. 1 Karolina Pliskova to lose before the final in order to ascend to the top spot.
For Kvitova, even given the title she won in Birmingham, this is likely her biggest win since returning from the horrific knife attack last December that marred her racket hand and put her career in serious jeopardy. She has pushed through the emotional and physical trauma to not only compete, but contend again.
As recently as July, she said she still couldn't even make a fist with her left hand, having to switch to her right for her celebratory fist pumps. But that left hand still managed to produce four aces, 24 winners, and one titanic victory Sunday night.
"For my journey back to get me here, to be playing in front of everyone, means the world to me," she said after the match.
Now, the two-time Wimbledon champ is off to the quarterfinals in Flushing Meadows for just the second time in her career. She'll face Venus Williams for a chance at her first US Open semi on Tuesday.