"I was happy to manage the anxiety" says Muguruza after first win of the year

Garbine Muguruza returned to the courts in Sydney and the Spaniard dug deep to fend off five set points to prevail 6-1 7-6(4) versus Ekaterina Alexandrova.

2021 ended on a high note for Garbine Muguruza as the Spaniard lifted the WTA Finals trophy propelling herself to the 3rd spot on the WTA Rankings. That's the ranking she entered 2022 with and in her first match she was able to overcome some adversity and win in two sets. Speaking on that after the match, she said:

"I was happy to manage the anxiety, playing the first match of the year. You want to win and you want to start with the right foot. Just managing those moments that the last match was two months ago, so it's been a while."

Muguruza usually does well down under as she reached three finals on the continent. One of those finals was the 2020 Australian Open final which she lost. On the season starting in Australia, she said:

"I feel like feeling that if you work so hard in the off-season and then you come and you have all this energy and all these things in mind to put in the game and some sort of freshness in the mindset. There are great tournaments, great environment. I feel like, 'Why not?'"