MELBOURNE // Garbine Muguruza’s rapid rise up the world rankings gives Spain hope of adding to its solitary tennis gold medal at the 2016 Olympics, but the 22-year-old is cagey about a dream mixed doubles pairing with Rafa Nadal in Rio.
The world No 3 is set to play in the singles at Rio and will team up with Carla Suarez Navarro in the doubles, but is hesitant to commit to the mixed doubles due to concerns about the hectic schedule.
Dual Davis Cup and Fed Cup captain Conchita Martinez is keen to nudge Muguruza toward partnering 2008 Olympic singles champion Nadal, who has already spoken of his desire to represent the nation in all three formats.
"Yeah, I thought about it. Well, I still don't know. I didn't have the opportunity yet to kind of sit down and see the chances," Muguruza told reporters at Melbourne Park on Tuesday after winning her first-round match 6-0 6-4 over unseeded Estonian Anett Kontaveit.
Muguruza, seeded third at the Australian Open, said she would have to weigh up the workload, given that Rio’s tournament will be sandwiched between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
“I think it’s going to be crazy if I play like three modalities in a week but for sure it will be amazing,” added Muguruza, who was born in Caracas and moved to Spain with her family when she was six.
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Muguruza has been tipped as a grand slam champion-in-waiting after a break-out 2015 in which she made the final of a major for the first time at Wimbledon and also reached the quarters of the French Open.
Coping with her higher profile will be among her greatest challenges in beating the second-year blues which struck Eugenie Bouchard last year after the Canadian’s brilliant 2014.
Muguruza’s performance against Kontaveit will have reassured Spanish hearts at Rod Laver Arena, however, as she pranced around a sun-splashed centre court to fire 22 winners past the Estonian battler.
It was also something of a relief for Muguruza, who was forced to pull out of her first match at the Brisbane International in the leadup to rest a long-standing foot injury.
“I have a few problems on my foot but well, I think I’m recovered now,” said Muguruza, who next faces Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.
“Yeah, it was definitely a good start. You never know how it’s going to go, first match always in a grand slam.
“I’m pretty pleased of my level, and obviously that I was really concentrated during the whole match.”
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How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United v Manchester City, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match is on BeIN Sports
