Wimbledon Open: Muguruza too good for Kuznetsova

Garbine Muguruza continued her impressive march towards a second Wimbledon final appearance with a dominant display to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets and reach the last four.

After dispatching world number one Angelique Kerber in the fourth round Muguruza made light work of seventh seed Kuznetsova, the Spaniard winning 6-3 6-4.

Aside from her 2015 final appearance Wimbledon has been a tough place for the 14th seed but the addition of former champion Conchita Martinez to her team for the championships appears to be having the desired effect.

Muguruza’s serve was impenetrable in the opening set as Kuznetsova only managed to win 11 points off her opponent, the Russian failing to make early pressure pay – letting a pair of break points slip in the third game.

She was immediately punished as Muguruza did not make the same mistake in the subsequent game, breaking Kuznetsova to love, before serving with aplomb to forge a one-set lead in the quarter-final.

The early exchanges in the second set saw Muguruza’s resolute defence and solidity from the baseline frustrate Kuznetsova, and only at the net was the 23-year-old errant.

Kuznetsova also impressed from deep but once again she faltered to allow Muguruza her chance, the 2016 French Open champion registering the crucial second break to go 3-2 up.

It proved a battle for Muguruza to consolidate on serve, but once she did so the world number 15 – who is now sure to move back into the top 10 – was untroubled as she set up a meeting with either Magdalena Rybarikova or Coco Vandeweghe.

A big smile on the face of Conchita Martinez as @GarbiMuguruza reaches her third Grand Slam semi-final…#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/6japmrU7Y7

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2017

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Muguruza [14] bt Kuznetsova [7] 6-3 6-4

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Muguruza – 14/15
Kuznestova – 21/12

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Muguruza – 2/2
Kuznestova – 1/1

BREAK POINTS WON
Muguruza – 2/3
Kuznestova – 0/3

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Muguruza – 65
Kuznestova – 69

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Muguruza – 71/61
Kuznestova – 65/71

TOTAL POINTS
Muguruza – 59
Kuznestova – 51