Garbine Muguruza vs. Agnieszka Radwanska: Score, Reaction from 2015 Wimbledon

Garbine Muguruza marched into her first-ever Grand Slam final on Thursday, as the Spaniard produced a tremendous display to beat a determined Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in a thrilling Wimbledon semi-final.

The 21-year-old Muguruza was rampant early on, wrapping up the first set with a swagger before some savvy play from Radwanska saw her establish a foothold in the match, taking the second to restore parity.

But Muguruza had too much in the deciding set, recovering from a break down and showcasing remarkable poise to win what was her first-ever appearance in a Slam semi-final.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

The first point of the match gave us an inkling of what to expect from this semi-final, as Muguruza and Radwanska traded heavy blows from the back of the court. But it was the 21-year-old who seized the early initiative, breaking the Pole at the first opportunity with a thumping forehand winner.

As noted by tennis coach Brad Gilbert, in the early stages Muguruza was looking nerveless in what was the biggest match of her career to date:

While Radwanska grew in confidence after that early setback, with the next three games going to serve, the 20th seed was always in control in the opening stages. She’s grown into this tournament, looking increasingly at ease with the grass courts, and as soon as the rallies settled down, Muguruza was smothering Radwanska with her powerful strokes.

So it was no surprise that with the scores poised at 1-3 on the Radwanska serve, her opponent grasped another break to take full control of the set.

Ian Walton/Getty Images

It was an immeasurably impressive effort from Muguruza in her first foray into a tournament as prestigious as this, and although the Pole held at 5-2 to make the youngster serve the set out, the 21-year-old won the game to love to take the first stanza 6-2.

Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times actually thought the standard of play from Muguruza didn’t accurately reflect what was complete domination:

Some statistics did, though, as we can see here courtesy of the tournament’s official Twitter feed:

The momentum accrued from the lopsided first set didn’t abate in the second. Again, Muguruza was hitting the 13th seed off Centre Court with relentless power from the baseline.

The depth on her shots was exquisite, and after earning three break points in the very first game, she snaffled the second to take a big step toward the final.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

As noted by The Tennis Tipster, a Radwanska win was looking a long way off at this point in the match:

But the Pole clung on in there, and after some uncharacteristically sloppy play from the Spaniard, she carved out her first break point of the match. Given the manner in which Muguruza was playing it was vital that she took it, and Radwanska did exactly that to level things up at 3-3.

Suddenly, the slam semi-final debutant was beginning to look a little tight out there, and after consolidating the break of serve by holding, some extraordinary defence saw the Pole break Muguruza again, shifting the impetus back in her favour. Radwanska was able to hold in the ninth game and with it she seized the second set 6-3.

Julian Finney/Getty Images

As had been the case for Muguruza in the second set, the momentum was with the player finishing strongly in the previous stanza, and Radwanska broke to establish a crucial advantage and win her sixth game in succession. 

But thrillingly, Muguruza, perhaps with some pressure off, gave a reminder of her class, getting back on level terms immediately with some thunderous forehands. It was a semi-final rife with twists and turns, as noted by Tracy Austin of BBC Tennis:

Those in attendance were certainly bewitched, as the two dark horses for the title continued to fight it out for their spot in the final. And after battling hard to hold her serve in the previous game, the Spaniard broke again in the sixth game to go 4-2 up and just two games away from victory.

After tightening up in the previous set after getting so close, Muguruza was much more composed with the final tantalisingly near in the decider. She held her serve to go 5-2 in front, and although Radwanska held, Muguruza then pushed her to deuce in the final game. But the 21-year-old showed gritty determination to get over the line and clinch the deciding set 6-3.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Afterwards, the 21-year-old, who can become the first Spanish lady to win at Wimbledon since Conchita Martinez in 1994 with a win on Saturday, couldn’t hide her delight at the victory:

ESPN Tennis pointed out that Muguruza was the first Spaniard to make a Wimbledon final since Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario in 1996.

Radwanska was probably a little short of her best in this one, and she’ll be disappointed by the manner in which she allowed Muguruza to dictate early on. But this was an excellent display from the youngster, bristling with the kind of character and quality you would expect of a seasoned veteran.

Another major challenge awaits in the final, but having added Radwanska to names like Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki—illustrious players blown away by the 21-year-old—she’ll fear nobody in Saturday’s showpiece. If Muguruza scales the heights that were on display here in bursts, she’s going to be very, very difficult to beat.