Bencic, Muguruza coast to victory in second round at Tokyo 2020

Garbine Muguruza of Spain clenches her fist during her second-round match with Qiang Wang of China at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Garbine Muguruza of Spain and Belinda Bencic from Switzerland both made good in the second round matches at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Monday. The Spaniard overcame a dismal moment in the first round to dominate Qiang Wang of China 6-3, 6-0. Bencic took down Japanese star Misaki Doi in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 making her way into the round of 16 without a set dropped at the Ariake Tennis Park. 

Muguruza knew that in her third meeting with Wang, she couldn’t put herself in a similar situation that she faced Sunday. The seventh seed opened a 5-0 run on ROC tennis star Veronika Kudermetova, who dictated her way into the match and nearly brought up a third set. Though she faced the heat once more, the 27-year old had time to regroup and focus on the experience she had against Wang. 

The first set went smoothly, with both players holding serve and not standing out as a threat to the other. It wasn’t until the sixth game that Muguruza caught a break and tied it for a double before taking the opening set. With Wang down, she put her offense into a new gear, allowing her four points while serving. She finished the second set in 26 minutes and the match in one hour and two minutes. The former world number one awaited a bout with either 2016 bronze medalist Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic or Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck. 

Swiss star Belinda Bencic celebrates a big point during her second-round match with Misaki Doi of Japan

Bencic and Doi played at a slower pace with Doi trying to be defensive early against the Swiss. She found only one opportunity to break the 24-year-old but had other struggles to deal with. With a double break in hand after the seventh game, Bencic closed out the first set with a serve to love. 

The second set didn’t go as smoothly as Bencic hoped, witnessing the opposition from Doi rise. The Japanese star held off a late surge from the Swiss and responded by breaking her for a short lead. Bencic broke back in the third before consolidating to level the score. Doi gained back the lead before making it a nightmare sixth game for the 24-year-old. After forcing deuce, Doi produced breakpoint chances and had three more along the way. After a total of six breaks and 17 total points played, Bencic held. 

She made Doi pay for that stressful moment in the seventh with a break and made it 5-3 back on serve. The 30-year-old notched another game on service, but once the ninth seed had balls in hand in the tenth it was all over. Bencic laid out three match points with ease to finish her day in just under 90 minutes, continuing her maiden run at the Olympics. She hoped for another step in the right direction but standing in her way was Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic, who has had all the right things happening from her end.