No. 9 of '17: With tight Wimbledon win over Kerber, Muguruza takes off

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No. 9: Garbiñe Muguruza d. Angelique Kerber 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, Wimbledon fourth round

It was the big showdown on the little court.

If you’re ever skeptical about whether it matters where a match is played, watch the below highlights of Garbiñe Muguruza and Angelique Kerber’s Wimbledon tug of war and imagine that it’s being held in Centre Court rather than on Court 2. This fearsome fourth-rounder would have taken its place on that storied arena’s long list of memorable epics.

“I was looking foward to playing on one of the two big courts,” Kerber said afterward. Many others were hoping to see her there as well.

The German was No. 1 in the world at the time, while the Spaniard had reached the Wimbledon final two years earlier. Instead, four of the six matches scheduled for Centre Court and Court 1 on that Manic Monday were men’s fourth-rounders, while the most-anticipated women’s match of the day was exiled to the All England Club’s back country. Maybe Muguruza and Kerber were motivated by the slight, because their Off-Broadway production turned out to be one of the best, tightest and most fiercely contested matches of 2017. It would also be a turning point in the WTA season.

For Kerber, it would be her Waterloo: After struggling through the first five months, she would finally surrender her No. 1 ranking soon after this match. From there, she would virtually flatline, finishing the year at an unimaginable No. 21.

For Muguruza, this win was the breakthrough she had been looking for since her victory at the French Open 13 months earlier. She would run through her next three matches in straight sets to win her first Wimbledon title, and later in the year reach No. 1 for the first time. If the result of this match had gone the other way, it’s not implausible to believe that Kerber would have done what Muguruza did from that point on.

All we know for sure is that there was little to separate them on this day. Each of the three sets they played went to 4-4, and it was rare when either player built a two-game lead. In 2015, Muguruza and Kerber played one of the best tiebreakers in Wimbledon history; Muguruza, attacking relentlessly, finally broke down Kerber’s equally relentless defense to win 14-12. Two years later, both women picked up where they left off.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Muguruza stepped forward whenever possible, powered the ball into the corner, and moved to the net. Kerber scrambled behind the baseline and countered those attacks with passes and lobs. The stats told the stark difference in their approaches: Muguruza finished with 55 winners and 50 errors, to 27 and 12 from Kerber. Muguruza won 35 of her 54 forways to the net, while Kerber won five of seven.

The tactics and dynamics of the match were straightforward; the result hinged on which woman could execute her game plan at the right time, and for a longer amount of time.

For Kerber, the goal was to make Muguruza hit as many balls as possible, especially at the net, where she’s not as comfortable. As the match progressed, Kerber dug deep into her varied shotmaking well: She moved Muguruza forward with drop shots, dipped passes at her feet, and stabbed back defensive lobs.

While Kerber was trying to extend herself, Muguruza was trying to rein herself in. For her, the goal was to take advantage of every putaway opportunity she created, and to maintain the perfect, precarious balance between aggression and margin.

Kerber would create more break-point chances, 10 to eight, but Muguruza’s saves on those break points proved crucial. At 1-1 in the second set, Kerber missed an open forehand passing shot that would have given her a set-and-a-break lead. Later, at 3-3 in the third, Kerber earned three more break points, only to see Muguruza erase them all with aggressive play.

That aggression would push Muguruza across the finish line. With Kerber serving at 4-5, she kept up the pressure, and finally forced a backhand error from the German on her third match point. When the ball hit the tape and fell back, the normally self-contained Spaniard erupted with a fist-pump and a scream toward her player box.

Afterward, Kerber felt as if better things were ahead for her. “I think I’m again on a good way to playing tennis again on a high level,” she said. That’s not how it worked out. Unable to string together a series of wins and find her elusive groove from the baseline, she continued to falter.

As for Muguruza, better things were indeed ahead, but after the match she wasn’t quite ready to look forward to them. This win was worth savoring, and this match, whatever court it was played on, was worth remembering.

“I fight, she was fighting,” Muguruza said of her two hour and 20 minute win over Kerber. “Every point was kind of, you know, incredible.”