Garbine Muguruza looked comfortable and on point at the AEGON Classic in Birmingham. The world number 14 had her game on lock in the first set and held off a push from Alison Riske
to win in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 on Ann Jones Centre Court on the grounds of the Edgbaston Priory Tennis Club Thursday.
The world number 14 had a challenging time on court Tuesday with an opponent she had never faced before let alone knew of. Riske was one well known on the tour and a second consecutive player she had yet to face. The American did well against recent Nottingham champ Donna Vekic; knocking her out in straight sets. The specialist on the backhand has moments of dominance which she expected to put to good use again. Muguruza continues to reel from her end at the French Open but got through her opening round with help from coach Sam Sumyk. With a new day in front of her, the Spaniard would try to dig in early and bring the heat to her opponent.
Muguruza opened with a good service break that followed with a very difficult second game from Riske. The American gave it her all to show some competition in the set by forcing deuce with the fourth seed. She and Muguruza went seven breaks and ten minutes before she capitalized on the break of her own.
The energy that Riske put into the second took a lot from her which the Spaniard used to her advantage. She blasted out the next five straight to take the American by storm to win the set 6-1 in 39 minutes. 11 winners helped the sixth seed tear through her games against Riske while the offense of the American struggled in the set serving at or below 45 percent. Despite being down a set, she still had every chance at making up for it in the second
Muguruza didn’t allow her much room to regroup capturing her sixth game in a row to start the set. Riske needed a positive response and did so with a double break on Muguruza on a bad volley return from the Spaniard. She rewarded herself with a service hold in the third that earned her the first lead to her name. It didn’t last long as Muguruza took care of business in the fourth and grew her service hold into a three-game winning streak. On the verge of breaking Riske for a second consecutive time, the American had an answer that put her down a game instead of seeing the gap widen.
The Spaniard had other ideas as she launched a solid love service that saw her score back to back aces to sit a game down from straight sets. The American made Muguruza’s efforts difficult while on the ball in the ninth forcing deuce with the sixth seed. It was a tug of war for possession but after four breaks, Riske saved two match points and kept her hopes alive moving on. Muguruza got another chance for the match and with her serve on point, the sixth got the job done after 1 hour and 34 minutes. “I really wanted to do well here because it’s my third time and this time is the lucky one and I really want to make it,” Muguruza said after the match.
She’ll go on to take the competition against the winner between Johanna Konta and Coco Vandeweghe in Friday’s quarterfinal.
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