Garbiñe Muguruza experienced another gruelling victory in Brisbane after defeating Russian teenager Daria Kasatkina 7-5 3-6 7-6(7).
In the first set both women fought as hard as each other to grab the advantage, as a result there were seven breaks of serve in the set. However it was the world number seven who took the crucial break in the eleventh game to lead 6-5 and eventually took the first set 7-5.
The second provided a more consistent viewing for the Brisbane crowd as the Russian rising star gained the advantage in the fourth game to lead 3-1. She used slice and power to gain the advantage and momentum over her Spanish opponent. There were no more breaks in the set as Kasatkina closed out the second set 6-3 to force a decider.
At the beginning of the final set both ladies broke each other and showed promise of a scintillating match. The quality of the match increased as the match grew longer. However Muguruza turned on the style for the Brisbane crowd and ran away to a 4-1 lead. Did Kasatkina have anything left in her engine? The answer was yes and used passion and determination to fight off break points and had some of her own. The Russian would win the next four games to earn the opportunity to serve for the biggest win of her career.
However the current Roland Garros champion brushed off earlier unforced errors and was hitting the lines , as a result limiting Kasatkina’s options and breaking back for 5-5. The match was an intense and entertaining watch for the local audience who were glued to the contest. Both women used their challenges to their advantage and both women contributed to the spectacular contest. Kasatkina with her slice and lobs controlling Muguruza on her racket. While the Spaniard used her power and brutality to outmanoeuvre her Russian opponent. As a result this epic match was decided on a tiebreak.
The Russian gained the early advantage in this final game however Muguruza caught up to Kasatkina’s high tempo and the tiebreak was level at 2-2. The tiebreak was on a knife edge and in a tight tie breaker Muguruza had a chance to close the match out at 6-5, despite this the teenager showed some gutsy tennis and drew level at 6-6. It was then the turn of Muguruza to hit unforced errors and Kasatkina had match point on her own serve, the nerves were telling though and as a result hit a double fault to give the advantage back to the Spaniard, she would then win the next two points to take the match in just under three hours.
After the match Muguruza gave credit to her opponent and explained how hard the match was, “I was suffering until the last moment. I think we were both playing amazing, and it was just the last point that decided the match.” After this epic win Garbiñe Muguruza will now play Svetlana Kuznetsova or 16 year old Destanee Aiava.
However for Daria Kasatkina the future is bright, she showed great character and desire and pushed one of the very best players to their limits. She should be thoroughly proud and this gave her great preperation heading into the Australian Open.
Drama. Passion. Desire. Determination. It had all the functions of a match of the year contender, what a start to the 2017 season.
