The Spaniard, a former world number one, was down a set and a
break but fought back strongly to beat Jabeur 3-6 6-3 6-0 to
claim her second title of the year and ninth overall.
The victory helped Muguruza climb two spots to number six on the
Race to the WTA Finals leaderboard and three places on the
women's rankings.
"Making finals is so hard," the 27-year-old told the WTA. "I've
been around for quite some time now and I know that winning
titles is something very difficult.
"To have the opportunity to win four and I won two, is already a
great sign because that's something that you can touch. You can
prove hey, we're doing a great job. Here's a trophy, we're doing
good."
Muguruza is aiming to qualify for her first WTA Finals since
2017, having played the event three times from 2015 when it was
held in Singapore.
Defending champion and top-ranked Ash Barty, world number two
Aryna Sabalenka and French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova have
all qualified for next month's tournament.
The Finals, contested by the world's top eight singles players
and eight doubles teams, was moved out of China's Shenzhen after
last year's event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and
will be held in Guadalajara, Mexico.
"I know it's going to be very nice over there because Latin
people are fire," the Venezuelan-born said. "I think the girls
are going to enjoy it."
Jabeur, who is looking to become the first Arab woman to qualify
for the WTA Finals, was ninth on the leaderboard.
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Berhampore, India; editing by
Simon Cameron-Moore)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|