Muguruza hungry for more as she makes last eight again
By Julien Pretot PARIS (Reuters) - Garbine Muguruza proved that last year's impressive performance at the French Open was no fluke when she repeated her run to the quarter-finals on Monday but she is hungry for more. Muguruza advanced with a 6-3 6-4 win over 28th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta and her claycourt skills suggested she has what it takes to become the first Spanish woman to triumph at Roland Garros since Arantxa Sanchez in 1998. "The other day we were talking in the locker room because she was there. She was giving me some advice. You have to listen to a champion like Arantxa," Muguruza told a news conference. "She was explaining to me when she was my age... you have to control your life outside the tennis, also, it's very important. "She was telling me about that. Because at the end, in the court is where you know what to do, but the problem is outside. Just like typical advice from like a mother." Muguruza, 21, broke decisively in the seventh game of the first set and rallied from 3-0 down in the second, the 21st seed's powerful ground strokes eventually becoming too hot to handle for Pennetta. Despite a low first-serve percentage, she wrapped up the contest on her first match point when Pennetta coughed up an unforced error with a backhand. The Spaniard will next face 13th-seeded Czech Lucie Safarova, who upset Russia's defending champion and second seed Maria Sharapova. Now that Muguruza has reached the last eight again, is the pressure off? "I remembered yesterday that last year I was in the quarter-finals. Come on, this year you have to do it better," she said. "I just learned from last year that I was like really excited and everything was new. This year I'm trying to concentrate more and use this chance more than last year." She is aware, however, that a maiden grand slam title may be out of reach. "It is true that you have to believe you can (win the title) because if not there is no point. So in the back of my mind there is a little light... but there are a lot of matches to play, and a lot of big names," she said. (Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by John O'Brien and Ken Ferris)
