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Garbine Muguruza had a slow start but found her gear and charged to victory at the US Open Tuesday. The Spaniard overcame a 4-1 deficit in the opening set to take down Nao Hibino 6-4, 6-4 on an empty Louis Armstrong Court at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center.
This marked their third meet against one another and the first since the Olympics in Rio. The Spaniard led the series 2-0 winning in straight sets and looked to get her restart with another. Muguruza last competed at Doha before the pandemic brought her season to a halt. The former world number one spent time on the court with coach Conchita Martinez waiting for the right time to be back in the competition. With the US Open as her opportunity, it would be up to the 26-year-old to get in gear against Hibino or fall face first for a third time in the opening round.
Hibino opened the match with a dictated service game delivering aggressive returns in turn. She took advantage of the start, in the second game but blew every break point bringing Muguruza to deuce. Despite losing ground, Hibino managed to produce another break point that delivered a 2-0 lead working the tenth seed. Another service hold from the Japanese star rewarded her with a 3-0 grasp over the world number one who struggled to win points from the second serve.
A third double fault from Muguruza forced deuce for Hibino, but a well-placed winner on the line gave her the edge to get on the board in the fourth. With the shutout brought to a close, Hibino continued her march of control scoring a serve to love in the fifth. The tenth seed gained a little more room to settle gaining a second win in the set. She found herself with control earning a break back on Hibino to sit a game down. It was all tied up in the eighth as Muguruza completed the comeback winning 12 of the last 15 points.
Winners were overtaking the unforced errors as the Spaniard took the lead with a double break on Hibino eyeing her chance at closing out the set. She stormed to a terrific finish winning her fifth straight to end 40 minutes. Despite racking up four double faults, Muguruza’s 80 percent from the first serve and five of nine points won from the net indicated her will to play stronger going forward.
The streak continued for the tenth seed who rallied to six and notched a third consecutive break of Hibino. Muguruza made it to seven but errors allowed Hibino to end the lengthy streak and avoid a shutout. The tenth seed returned to service in the fourth to take a 3-1 stance but Hibino with a game to her name, added a second victory with a hold of serve. The former world number one sat two games away scoring a serve to love on Hibino who was struggling on both sides of her game. On serve in the seventh, she notched a third double fault with game point in hand.
Despite needing four breaks, the longest game of the match remained with the 25-year-old who sat a game from leveling with her opponent. Muguruza denied her that chance, securing the service in the eighth looking to break and move into round two. Muguruza gained a 40-30 for match point in the ninth, but a long ball forced deuce for Hibino who wanted to keep playing. It took her two breaks to get hold of a moment that allowed the Japanese star to hold serve and go for a shot at leveling again. Muguruza had other plans and despite having Hibino on her tail, the 26-year-old reached a second match point, putting the match to rest in 1 hour and 32 minutes. Muguruza maintained a strong first serve winning 83 percent from it while the net points assisted having 20 attempts and scoring on 12.
“I was anxious a little bit because I didn’t play for six months and didn’t play the US Open Series to get ready for here,” Muguruza said to Andrew Krasny. “I was happy with my performance. I was expecting for a tough match and it was. She was playing good from the beginning, and I started a little bit slow for how well she was playing and I started to feel better and my game came with the flow of the rhythm and I managed to play at the end pretty good.”
Despite the late start, the Spaniard who began her 30th major clinched her spot in the second round where she’ll face the winner between Liudmila Samsonova and Tsvetana Pironkova on Thursday.
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