Garbine Muguruza sends Amanda Anisimova into the night winning in straight sets

Garbine Muguruza swung well with the forehand during her match against Amanda Anisimova at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championshipsips

Amanda Anisimova couldn’t break through the consistency of her strong opponent at the Dubai Duty-Free Championships Tuesday night. Garbine Muguruza fought early but cruised to come out winning in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 on court 1 at the Dubai Tennis Stadium. 

The two got their first meeting after a 2018 matchup in Miami never came to fruition. Both adapted well to the tournament, especially Muguruza, who had one day rest since her final in Doha. The win she put together against Irina Camelia Begu not only contained it in straight sets but fought off a mess from her first serve. The American would try to scratch into that vulnerability of her opponent after a solid victory of Ana Konjuh. With the level of dominance nowhere near the level the Spaniard had last week, Anisimova would hope to keep her back and conduct momentum herself. 

She managed to hold serve in the opening game while keeping the Spaniard out of the competition. When it came for Muguruza to serve, she faced a challenge from the teen, who forced deuce and stretched out for every opportunity. They went six breaks on deuce until Muguruza killed off Anisimova’s fourth breakpoint to take the game. Things loosened in the third, with the American holding service followed by Muguruza. 

She backed up the hold of serve with a break of the teen and consolidated for a 4-2 lead. Anisimova overcame a 0-40 deficit, forcing deuce and winning it on the first break. The 27-year-old move on from the lost opportunity and held the eighth to sit a game from the set. Anisimova held it together in the ninth, going a break of deuce with Muguruza but unwilling to give her another break. 

It was in the tenth that she gave her best to try and extend the set, facing the ninth seed on serve. She took the first point off Muguruza but watched the next three go against her. The American saved one but it was the Spaniard, who went on to take the set in 47 minutes. The 27-year-old won 71 percent on the first serve while keeping her offense at the level of her opponent. 

She opened the second with a break of Anisimova holding her back from a late surge. Muguruza was broken back in the second but made the 19-year-old pay for it, scoring a double break in the third. The fourth became the longest fight of the match, taking five breaks of deuce to get it done. Muguruza did well to keep Anisimova from producing breakpoints, but her own groundstrokes kept her from clinching the game. After knocking out Anisimova’s lone break chance, she went on to take it. 

Anisimova got a second game in, holding the Spaniard to a point, but backing it up was not meant to occur. Muguruza held the sixth and then broke the teen on serve in the seventh. She served for the match opening up a lead but watched the American fight back to level. She fired an ace down the T for match point and let the second serve work through a short rally before Anisimova hit it too hard to complete the victory for Muguruza in 1 hour and 28 minutes. 

With a ticket into the round of 16, the difficulty arose for the former world number one, who faced Iga Swiatek next.