MELBOURNE — Garbine Muguruza stormed back into the Grand Slam big time with an emphatic 7-5 6-3 win over Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach her first Australian Open semi-final on Wednesday. The twice Grand Slam champion will meet former finalist Simona Halep on Thursday for a place in the title match after another confidence-building performance at Melbourne Park on a sunbathed Rod Laver Arena. Unseeded at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2014, Muguruza made few pundits’ lists of pre-tournament contenders and her campaign was almost scuppered by a viral illness. The Martinez collaboration was a key part of Muguruza’s run to the Wimbledon title and it has produced instant success since resuming in the offseason. “I think it’s a tough match (against Halep),” said Muguruza, who holds a 3-2 winning record over the Romanian third seed.

Source: National Post January 29, 2020 06:33 UTC