Revenge tasted sweet for Garbine Muguruza at the Yarra Valley Classic Friday afternoon. The 27-year-old was powerful on the court against second-seeded Sofia Kenin, who had a lot of frustration from her mistakes in a 6-4, 6-2 score on Margaret Court Arena at Melbourne Park.
This marked the rematch of the 2020 Australian Open between the finalist and the reigning champion. The American captured her second win against the Spaniard that gave her a maiden slam. It was predicted to be another fight, this time for a spot in the semifinals. Muguruza’s game sharpened nicely during the two tournaments played so far this season. Having yet to drop a set so far in Melbourne, Kenin had to be at her best against the former world number one.
The second seed came out and shut out Muguruza with a serve to love. The American gained an early chance at a break but was foiled by the Spaniard who answered a pop fly with a smashing return. She played through another deuce before securing the hold of serve against Kenin. Becoming the first to break wasn’t in the cards as some of her returns fell long of the baseline. Kenin went on to hold the third with a return landing softly at the back end of the court out of Muguruza’s reach.
The sixth seed used the middle of the court and her height to control the rallies against Kenin and come through with a serve to love. Mistakes from the American resulted in a break to love for Muguruza who took the lead after five. She backed up the break of serve with a hold in the sixth, gaining serious momentum over the Australian Open champ. The Spaniard scored the coveted double break that handed her a 5-2 hold, awaiting her moment to serve for the set.
Muguruza ran into some trouble, committing two double faults in the game. With a shot to break, Kenin hit one too long of the baseline bringing the score to deuce. A crosscourt winner brought up her second attempt and won it on a forced error from Kenin ending the set in 31 minutes. The Spaniard had 15 winners and four unforced errors with a service at nearly 80 percent. With such a strong output from the sixth seed, she hoped to roll her success into the next frame.
Kenin left the court before coming back to regroup and get a grip on her serve. Muguruza gave her a beating that took the game to deuce. Kenin tried to get the AD point secure but her opponent changed the tide, gaining the break in the end. Muguruza once again backed up the break with a hold of serve, carrying a seven-game winning streak. Kenin put together a hold of serve in the third, snapping the Spaniard’s dominance.
The American worked hard to add a second win in the shape of a break but gaining another was not favored by the sixth seed. Kenin erred the ball into the net, giving Muguruza the lead back at 3-2. The second seed worked hard, fighting the Spaniard for a break but even breaks on deuce weren’t enough to change the outcome. Showing tremendous power, Muguruza showed no letting up and took a 5-2 stand.
The second seed served for not only the match but her revenge from early 2020. Giving Kenin just one point in the eighth game, the Spaniard gained two match points where a smashed winner completed the upset that took her 1 hour and 11 minutes.
“I was lucky to have two weeks of training to get used to the court and very excited to be back,” Muguruza said after her match. When asked whether being back brought her energy to compete back on the courts Muguruza responded, “It’s always better to know that you’ve played well. I think that gives you happiness and great energy and hope that things can go well again.”
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