Dusting the red clay off her back to collect her maiden Grand Slam trophy last month, Garbine Muguruza’s vision from 11 months earlier finally rang true.
It was not merely the fulfilment of a tennis player’s ultimate goal to claim one of the sport’s prized four majors, but the dream scenario in which to do so.
Before her break-out Grand Slam triumph in Paris, Wimbledon crowds were treated to the Venezuelan-born Spaniard’s aggressive game, infectious smiles and hands-on-head post-match celebrations on a magnificent run to last year’s final.
She took down No.10 seed Angelique Kerber, No.5 seed Caroline Wozniacki, Timea Bacsinszky and 2012 Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska in succession before falling to six-time champion Serena Williams in the final.
“If you want to win a Grand Slam, when you dream you say, ‘I want Serena in the final’,” Muguruza said before that title decider.
I'm going for the first match, like everyone else, from zero
Despite falling short last July, she would earn her shot at revenge in the decider on Roland Garros’s clay.
And for the second time in as many French Open encounters between the two, it would be a victorious Muguruza shaking her head in disbelief.
In an effort to keep the breakthrough in check, the 22-year-old is trying to treat her Wimbledon approach no different to her previous three.
“Nothing has changed for me to look at Wimbledon different. I'm actually thinking that it’s weird to be back here because of last year [having reached the final], not because of a Grand Slam winner just two weeks ago,” Muguruza said.
“It's so quick and a lot of things had happened in between. I mean, I can't believe it.”
Following her first major final at Wimbledon last year, the world No.2 admitted to struggling with expectations, mainly her own. She had won only four matches in her first five tournaments this season.
“I've been in the situation where you win a lot of matches, and then suddenly you lose. You're like, ‘Oh, I thought I was going to win’. I don't take anything for granted,” she said.
“I'm going for the first match, like everyone else, from zero. And, yeah, not thinking about that [the French Open].”
Given the short turnaround between the season’s middle two Grand Slams, however, this may prove more difficult.
In her only warm-up event on grass, Muguruza fell first round in Mallorca to 2013 Wimbledon semi-finalist Kirsten Flipkens.
No great surprises there, however she will be desperate to avoid the curse of the breakthrough Grand Slam title over the Fortnight.
Of the past eight first-time women’s Grand Slam champions, none have made the quarter-finals in their next major.
Kerber (first round), Flavia Pennetta (retired), Marion Bartoli (retired), Victoria Azarenka (fourth round), Samantha Stosur (first round), Petra Kvitova (first round), Li Na (second round) and Francesca Schiavone (first round) all fell early.
“Well, when I touched the grass court, I'm like, 'OK, I know you come from a lot, but this is tennis',” Muguruza said of juggling the French Open hype.
“One week you win, next week you're like new tournament. It's hard because you want to still enjoy, you're still [remembering] that match. As soon as I step on the new court, new surface, I'm like,'OK, let's try to start fresh'.”
