Garbiñe Muguruza continues with its good progress on the circuit without accusing, for the moment, the load of matches. This Tuesday she showed in the second round of the WTA 1,000 in Dubai that she is not only a tennis player with an innate capacity for attack and aggressiveness, but she also knows how to defend herself and very well. Thus he beat Amanda Anisimova 6-4 and 6-2, a 19-year-old American and 32nd in the world who plays blows, although she does not always know how to control them. The Spanish, relentlessly on a very demanding path, will face Iga Swiatek in the round of 16 on Wednesday (not before 16:00, TDP), current champion of Roland Garros, who got rid of the Japanese Misaki Doi (6-2 and 6-4) without problems.
Garbiñe insists when asked that mobility has improved a lot and it is true. His good physical condition and the will to take advantage of it allow him to succeed against players who, like her, hit the ball very hard. He was seen in Doha against Sabalenka and against Anisimova he also had to duck his back, as they say vulgarly, to resist in some exchanges and go on the counterattack. The mistakes of a rival a little lack of filming also helped, who began her season this week in the Arab Emirate after having suffered from COVID-19.
Muguruza could not be neglected for a minute against such an impetuous opponent whom he could not clearly dominate, although he did always take the initiative on the scoreboard. In the first set he took the lead in the fifth game and had a 0-40 to sentence in the next rest, but Anisimova held on to the match cleanly until 6-4. The second set started with three consecutive breaks, two for Garbiñe, who managed to consolidate the second by sweating blood and with some unexpected resource, such as a luxurious backhand cut winner. The American fled the long exchanges that did not interest her and survived because the Caracas woman needed to rest after her long serve turn. Already answered, the winner of two Grand Slams struck shortly after the final blow to get to 5-2, serve and win, now, with authority. He already has 14 wins, more than anyone so far this year, and tons of confidence to perform where others suffer. It happened to Petra Kvitova, who took the title from her in Qatar last Sunday. The Czech had to retire injured when she lost against the Swiss Teichmann.
Table and results.
Muguruza: “I have learned to deal with the first rounds”
At the end of the match, the Spanish-Venezuelan analyzed her triumph at a press conference. “I feel more mature and I notice that I have learned to deal with the first rounds, now I am more open to adapt to the new conditions and I know myself better. I am very happy with my consistency, “confessed Conchita Martínez's ward.
On his next rival, Iga Swiatek, Garbiñe acknowledged that he has trained several times with her and that it will be a demanding duel: “He has been playing well in the last year and in this one he comes from winning in Adelaide, so without a doubt I expect a good game, hard, for sure.” And he added about being seeded in the tournaments: “Now I think about it a little less and I look at it more to see if I am exempt from the first round in the draws. I take it all a little more relaxed.”