Garbine Muguruza edges Victoria Azarenka in thrilling three setter at the US Open

 

Garbine Muguruza clenches her fist during a heavily contested match with Victoria Azarenka during the third round of the US Open. 

Garbine Muguruza finished strong to get into the round of 16 at the US Open Friday. The former world number one ousted three-time finalist Victoria Azarenka in a three-set battle resulting in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. It was her second win on the hard courts against the 32-year-old and the third overall. 

The two superstars met for the fourth time and first this season which made up for the Belorussian’s withdraw in Doha. With the series tied at two games apiece, the Spaniard wanted to get another hard-court win against the 32-year-old and move into the second week. Neither one had dropped a set so far in the tournament, but in a match with two highly skilled players, there was bound to be a tight battle to every business end of every set. 

The 18^th seed went another direction and fired away at the Spaniard to seal down her opening service. Muguruza didn’t have the best start, committing errors that handed Azarenka three breakpoints. The ninth seed saved two of them, but it was an unforced error that gave her opponent a 2-0 jump. The Belorussian double-faulted in the third but climbed back to even things at 30-all. Her serve toss into the sun continued to be a problem that led to Muguruza scoring the break. 

The Spaniard had to work hard for the hold of serve when Azarenka forced deuce but was denied the AD point twice. With the score tied, the 32-year-old needed two breaks on deuce to get her service game locked. Muguruza was dug in well and sealed the win in the sixth to keep the score level after six games. It remained deadlocked through the next pair of games, but in the ninth game, Muguruza took control on a critical error. The Spaniard had her chance with the breakpoint in hand, scoring the 5-4 lead with a chance to serve for the set. 

The ninth performed beautifully with two ruthless shots that forced errors out of Azarenka. The 18^th seed committed an unforced error that gave Muguruza three set points, but her next shot fell just long of the line. Despite letting one set point get away, Muguruza landed an ace to close out the set in 48 minutes. The Spaniard had 17 winners to Azarenka’s six and bested the Belorussian on first serve and return points. 

Knowing that she was beaten at the end, Azarenka regrouped to start very well in the second set. After holding off Muguruza from gaining a break on her service late in the first, she went into the second, finding breakpoints late. With a break in hand, the 18^th seed scored a shutout over the Spaniard to lead 3-0. The 18^th seed achieved the double break in a set that was all in her hands. Muguruza made a serious change to that in the fifth when she broke back to end the slide and cause the Belorussian to slam her racket to the floor. 

Despite the loss of shutting out Muguruza, she added a third break to her success in the set and earned the chance to force a third on her serve. Azarenka fell behind in the seventh game but got to deuce on a long ball return from the Spaniard. A double fault gave Muguruza the AD breakpoint but was not in place when her opponent painted a winner on the tramline. She blew her second chance to get into set point position but another error cost her, putting Muguruza three games down. 

The 27-year-old continued her climb back, scoring another game on serve that put her two away from a tie with Azarenka again in search of a finish to the second stanza. She had the ninth seed off key in the ninth where she executed two drop shots and forced an error off Muguruza to serve for set point. The ninth seed was in a better place on court to volley a winner and save one, but getting another was out of the question. The two got into a scrappy volley rally near the net where a winner for Azarenka gave her the win that took 45 minutes to complete. 

The 32-year-old improved on her serve percentages and scored more winners than Muguruza, who fell apart at the seams of her offense with four double faults recorded. With the third set left to play, one of them was to remain steady to enter the second week. Muguruza was first to act, scoring terrific winners that zipped by the Belorussian. In response, the 18^th seed dug in to hold serve and work through the motions in the fourth to stay close. 

The sixth was a competitive game between the two as they fought one another for the AD point through four breaks. On her second breakpoint, Muguruza won it on a backhand error from Azarenka. With balls in hand, the Spaniard put it all out on the court with a pair of winners and an ace before getting the shutout. With a 5-2 stance against the 18^th seed, she came into the eighth with a crosscourt winner to begin scoring. 

Muguruza took the next two points on an error and double fault from the Belorussian. Azarenka followed things up with an ace, but her efforts were cut short. Despite gaining a second ace in the game, Muguruza forced deuce and captured match point on the AD point. The 27-year-old got herself into the round of 16 on a double fault that finished the match in 2 hours and 14 minutes. 

The win put her in a spot that she had reached only once (2017) and would give it her all on Sunday when she faces the winner of Barbora Krejcikova or Kamilla Rakhimova.