Former world No.1 Garbine Muguruza has kicked-off her campaign at the Dubai Tennis Championships With a hard fought 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, win over Dayana Yastremska.
Muguruza, who reached the semi-finals of the tournament last year, had lost to Yastremska in their two previous meetings. Losing both of those matches in straight sets. However, the two-time grand slam champion got her revenge during what was a roller coaster match that exceeded the two-hour mark. The rocky display saw Muguruza hit only 14 winners to 47 unforced errors as she converted eight out of her 11 break point opportunities.
“I love coming here, it is such an entertaining tournament. I have done well in the past, so it is always good to be back.” Muguruza said during her on-court interview.
“She was playing really well the previous two times. I think she played better today as well, but I managed to increase my level and win.”
Seeded 12th in this year’s tournament, Muguruza faces a potentially tricky route to the title. In her quarter, she could play Elina Svitolina in the third round followed by top seed Naomi Osaka. Before then, she faces China’s Saisai Zheng in the second round.
“I have also played here recently.” Muguruza said of Zheng. “I mean, come on, every match here is difficult in such an important tournament. So I’m ready to fight.”
Elsewhere at the tournament, Russia’s Daria Kasatkina won only her second match of 2019. The Russian 11th seed battled her way to a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win over Polish qualifier Magdalena Frech. Recovering from a 0-3 deficit in the decider by winning six out of the next seven games played in the match.
“She [Frech] has always been a tough opponent. That was a long time out there on court and I am tired. But I am happy to be ending on the winning side,” The Gulf News quoted Kasatkina as saying.
“She doesn’t make things easy for you out there. She does a lot of slicing and the ball tends to bounce a little bit more here. That doesn’t make life easy as well. In the end, I will take this win and hope I can get past my crisis,” she added.
Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich was another seed to experience difficulty in the first round. The 24-year-old staged an epic comeback to defeat Ekaterina Makarova 0-6, 7-4, 6-4. At one stage of the match, Sasnovich trailed the match 0-6, 1-4, and was down a break in the final set.
Finally, Kristina Mladenovic will be the first player world No.1 Osaka plays in the tournament. The Frenchwoman downed wild card Fatma Al-Nabhani 6-1, 6-1.
