Bengaluru, August 21: Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza foiled Simona Halep's deam of becoming the world No.1 by trouncing her 6-1 6-0 in the Cincinnati Open final on Sunday.
A win in Cincinnati would have seen Halep displace Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova from the top of WTA rankings.
The Romanian entered the final without dropping a set all week but at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Sunday, her game fell apart.
Halep's second serve proved to be a liability, winning only 11 per cent. She promised to comeback strongly though.
"I played so bad today and Garbine played so well. I will come back next year and try to do better," said Halep.
Spaniard Muguruza, who had failed to capture a title for more than a year following her triumph at last year's French Open, was now celebrating winning two trophies in as many months as she backed up her Wimbledon victory with her glorious run in Cincinnati.
#SAPStatOfTheDay: @GarbiMuguruza becomes first player since 2012 to defeat BOTH World No.1 & No.2 in the same tournament! @SAPSports pic.twitter.com/8R9QqJKxJU
— WTA (@WTA) August 20, 2017
The fourth seed credited Sunday's win on saving three match points in her third-round encounter against American Madison Keys.
"The match with Keys gave me a lot of confidence," Muguruza was quoted as saying in ESPN.
"I like the big matches. I believe I play well there. I'm happy to be there, happy to be in that situation.
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