MASON, Ohio — Garbiñe Muguruza cradled her face in both hands on Sunday and closed her eyes, taking it all in. Muguruza, who won the women’s crown at Wimbledon last month, had added another title to her breakthrough summer — this one at the expense of Simona Halep, a player who cannot quite get to No. 1.
Muguruza defeated Halep, 6-1, 6-0, for her first Western & Southern Open title, needing only 56 minutes to extend her run of success. She also denied Halep another chance to move up to No. 1 in the WTA rankings.
“Honestly, I was thinking, in her situation, it must be difficult,” Muguruza said.