World number eight and Wimbledon finalist Garbiñe Muguruza looked more like her old self, dispatching Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-0 at the 2015 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. Muguruza will play Ana Ivanovic for a spot in the last eight, whom she has never played a professional match against.
Muguruza Wins Tight Opening Set
Coming into this match, a lot was expected from both players. With both women having a big serve and thunderous ground strokes, this was going to be a hard-hitting battle — literally. Muguruza and Stephens were both looking to get the first strike in the rallies, where they could use their strength to trouble the other’s weaknesses.
If the first few games of the match were any indication of how this encounter would progress, it was going to be an entertaining couple of hours in Wuhan. Both women held their first service game, respectively, before Muguruza began to ask the question. With some big hitting and a costly double fault from Stephens on break point, the Spanish number one would go up 2-1 and an early break in this second-round encounter.
Muguruza was beginning to play within herself more and showed why she is a force to be reckoned with in the coming years on the WTA. The Wimbledon finalist showed flashes of brilliance en route to consolidating the break and going up 3-1.
In the following game, both women had their chances, but it was Stephens, who was able to save four break points en route to holding serve. Despite not getting the double break in the preceding game, Muguruza continued to be aggressive, and her power was ultimately too much for her American counterpart to handle for the rest of the set. The Spaniard hung on to her one break advantage with a hold of serve before finally converting a break point to go up 5-2. The eighth seed made no mistake while serving out the opening set, winning it 6-2.
Muguruza Annihilates Stephens in the Second Set
Muguruza continued the momentum she had sustained in the opening set, as she broke to 15 in the first game of the second set. Everything seemed to be going right for the world number eight, as all of her shots were landing just inside the baseline and she had a bit of luck on her side too.
Just minutes after breaking Stephens for the third time of this encounter, Muguruza consolidated the break and broke once more, without losing a point in the process. From that point on, it was one-way traffic for the 21-year-old Spaniard. Less than 10 minutes later, she was serving for the match a place in the last sixteen up 6-2, 5-0. Another love service hold was enough for Garbiñe Muguruza to cruise to a 6-2, 6-0 win over WTA rising star Sloane Stephens.
Stephens only won three points in the second set, and all of those points were because of unforced errors from her opponent. With this win, Muguruza sets up an intriguing third-round clash between Ana Ivanovic and herself. Surprisingly, they have never met each other, but they have practiced with each other in the past, so they should both be well aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.