French Open 2014: Garbiñe Muguruza, Latina Women Lead the Charge at Tennis Tournament
This year's Women's French Open gave us a huge upset in the second round, when Garbiñe Muguruza out of Venezuela defeated top seed Serena Williams in straight sets.
And she's only one of several Hispanic stars that have been shining at this year's tournament.
Recently, the Spanish men have dominated the women when it comes to winning on the biggest of stages. Rafael Nadal, being the most obvious with his 13 Grand Slam titles, eight of which came at the French Open. Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil even won back to back French Open Championships in 2000 and 2001. And who could forget about Juan Martín del Potr's (Argentina) performance at the 2009 U.S. Open?
Since 2000, the Spanish men have won 16 Grand Slams compared to the women's zero. But this year, the Spanish women are looking to end that drought at the 2014 French Open.
The woman who's made the loudest noise is the Venezuelan star Muguruza. After stunning the No. 1 seed Williams, she then went on to defeat Anna Karolína Schmiedlová Friday to advance to the fourth round. Muguruza is currently ranked No. 35 in the World Tennis Rankings. Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor recently lost to Simona Halep leaving just two other Spanish born players. Those two are Carla Navarro and Silvia Soler-Espinosa, both of whom hail from Spain.
Spanish women used to be some of the best tennis players in the 80's and '90s. Conchita Martínez and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario were the two dominate forces among Spanish women in the previous decades. Vicario's French Open title in 1998 is the last Grand Slam Championship by a Spanish born female.
Espinosa will be facing Kiki Bertens in a third round match-up. Incredibly, the top three seeds have all been eliminated from the tournament, leaving a good possibility of a Spanish player winning. This is the first time Muguruza has made it to the fourth round of the French Open and she is attempting to become the very first woman from a South American country to win the tournament.
It's going to be a tough road ahead for the Spanish women as they look to erase and remake history, but this may be their best chance.
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