Garbine Muguruza beats Rybarikova 6-1, 6-1 to reach Wimbledon final
LONDON (AP) Garbine Muguruza will get another shot at the Wimbledon title.
The 14th-seeded Spaniard advanced to the final at the All England Club by beating Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-1 Thursday on Centre Court.
Muguruza reached the Wimbledon final in 2015, but lost to Serena Williams. She will get a second chance at the title on Saturday against either five-time champion Venus Williams or Johanna Konta.
Muguruza won the first five games of the first set, facing only one break point and saving it. The 2016 French Open champion then broke Rybarikova twice to open the second set and take a 4-0 lead.
''I think today I step up on court, super confident,'' Muguruza said, ''and everything went well.''
Muguruza is now 3-0 in Grand Slam semifinal matches.
Rybarikova was playing in a major semifinal for the first time. At No. 87, she was the fourth lowest-ranked player in history to reach the Wimbledon semifinals.
But the unseeded Slovak entered Thursday's match with an 18-1 record on grass this season, including a run to the semifinals in Nottingham. She also won two lower-level events.
The 23-year-old Muguruza, who is playing at Wimbledon for the fifth time, has dropped the least amount of games at this year's tournament, losing only 39 so far.
In the second match on Centre Court, Williams was looking to reach her ninth final at the All England Club - and first since 2009. The 10th-seeded American, who is 37 years old, is 8-1 in Wimbledon semifinal matches over 20 appearances at the grass-court major.
Konta was playing in the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time.
''I definitely want to win,'' Muguruza said, ''no matter who is front of me.''
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