Wimbledon 2017: Garbine Muguruza puts on a show to dump out world No.1 Angelique Kerber

In the quarter-finals Muguruza will face Svetlana Kuznetsova, who ended the hopes of another former runner-up here by beating Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-4

Garbine Muguriza triumphed over world No.1 Angelique Kerber (Getty)

Living up to her achievement in reaching the Wimbledon final two years ago did not prove easy for Garbine Muguruza last summer, but the 23-year-old Spaniard is back in the quarter-finals thanks to a pulsating 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Angelique Kerber.

Muguruza, who fell to Jana Cepelova in the second round here 12 months ago, underlined her recent domination of Kerber to complete a fifth successive victory over the world No 1 thanks to a performance full of attacking flair and grass-court excellence.

While Muguruza does not charge relentlessly into the net in the way that a Martina Navratilova or a Billie Jean King did, the world No 15 knows how to exploit her strengths on this surface. Muguruza, who is being coached here by her compatriot Conchita Martinez, the 1994 Wimbledon champion, hits the ball with impressive power and is not afraid to attack the net when given the opportunity.

In the quarter-finals Muguruza will face Svetlana Kuznetsova, who ended the hopes of another former runner-up here by beating Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-4.

Meanwhile Kerber’s defeat means that she will lose the world No 1 position – to Simona Halep or Karolina Pliskova – in next week’s updated ranking list. The burden of being on top has not sat easily on Kerber’s shoulders, though the 29-year-old German showed some battling qualities to reach the fourth round here and pushed Muguruza hard in a match that lasted more than two and a quarter hours.

It said everything about the quality of the programme on “Manic Monday”, when all the remaining singles players were in action, that this match between the last two runners-up – who both lost to Serena Williams in the final - was played on Court Two.

The crowd were treated to a fascinating contrast of styles. Muguruza, who hits the ball with appreciably more power than Kerber, tried to dictate the points with her big ground strokes from the back of the court before coming forward when she had the chance. The Spaniard hit some smart volleys, even if she was never entirely convincing at the net.

Kerber, in contrast, was happy to rally from the baseline. The German, a fine athlete who covers the ground as well as anyone in the women’s game, defended superbly and tried to pull Muguruza from side to side. The longer the rallies went on, the more they worked in Kerber’s favour.

On serve Muguruza had a clear edge in power – her average serve speed of 92mph was 8mph faster than Kerber’s – but it was often the German who made the greater inroads into her opponent’s service games. Muguruza might have been expected to take more advantage of the lack of pace in Kerber’s second serves, but what the German lacked in power she often made up for win the accuracy of her placement.

The match-up made for some pulsating rallies. Typically, Muguruza would force Kerber on to the back foot with the power and depth of her ground strokes until the Spaniard saw the opportunity to come forward, either to go for a winner or to set up the chance to hit a winning volley. Kerber, meanwhile, would unleash her passing shots while Muguruza would attempt to cut them off at the net.

Kerber took the opening set in 43 minutes thanks to a single break of serve in the ninth game. In the second there were no breaks until Kerber served at 4-5, by which time the German had had to defend only one break point. Here she saved a second break point with a thumping winner, but on the third Muguruza took the set with a winning forehand.

The momentum swung one way and then the other in a dramatic final set. Kerber broke serve in the opening game with a splendid backhand pass down the line, but three games later hurled her racket to the floor in frustration – for which she was handed a code violation – as Muguruza broke back.


 Kerber is out and will lose her No.1 ranking 
 (Getty)

There were successive breaks of serve in the next two games as both women appeared to suffer under the mounting pressure. At 3-3 Muguruza, crucially, saved four break points and when Kerber served at 4-5 it was the German who finally cracked.

Kerber went 15-40 down but then saved two match points, firstly with a service winner and then with a big backhand into a corner. On the third, however, Muguruza’s bold return of serve forced her opponent into a backhand error. Muguruza’s pleasure was evident in her beaming smile in acknowledging the crowd’s prolonged applause. On this showing she will take some beating here.