Veronika Kudemetova upsets Garbine Muguruza at Dubai Duty Free

Veronika Kudermetova celebrates during her second-round match with Garbine Muguruza at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. 

Veronika Kudermetova pulled off a late feat to dethrone the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Champion Wednesday. The Russian fought point after point with Garbine Muguruza to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on centre court at the Aviation Tennis Club. 

The Spaniard defended her title defense against Katerina Siniakova, who she struggled against on two occasions. Tuesday's victory over the Czech gave her a boost of confidence that she was capable of handling anyone. She carried a three-match streak on Kudermetova, hoping that the effort put in 24 hours ago wouldn’t become a problem. The 24-year-old scored a surprising win over Victoria Azarenka, who came back to Dubai after a long absence and exited once more. The Russian had a lot to be proud of in her game but had a full-time player to battle against. 

She made it clear to Muguruza in the opening game when she struck to force deuce and produced a breakpoint. The Spaniard slammed the door shut and played two more breaks to hold serve. In response, she took a 3-0 lead on Kudermetova, who eventually got a victory from her service in the fourth. The Russian broke the fourth seed in the fifth but suffered the break back from Muguruza. A serve to love made it 5-2 for the former world number one, who allowed Kudermetova to notch another game from her end before putting the set to rest. 

Muguruza smashed another game quickly, blanking the 24-year-old to take the set in 43 minutes. The fourth seed served an impressive 81 percent of shots on the first serve, with only five winners against the Russian. They opened the second with holds of serve that lasted six games. At the end of Muguruza’s victory, the Russian called for the trainer during the sit-down and took an off-court medical timeout. She returned to court five minutes later, going into the seventh with another service hold. 

The Spaniard remained level with Kudermetova after eight holds of serve. Muguruza posted a serve to level that tied them at four-all until the Russian accomplished the same feat to make it 5-4. The 24-year-old opened the tenth game with three set points, with Muguruza saving two only to come up short after 50 minutes. Kudermetova nailed 13 winners during her set win while keeping the Spaniard down and out with one. 

They went into the deciding set with Kudermetova serving first once again, holding Muguruza to a point. The 27-year-old stayed with the competition through another eight holds of service, until the Russian made her move. It was there in the ninth that Kudermetova trailed the fourth seed and won the next two points to force deuce. She produced two AD points before taking the lead and playing for the match. 

Muguruza tried not to let up, but on game point, the 24-year-old scored a winner to force deuce and caught her first AD point for the match. Kudermetova had Muguruza right where she wanted her to bring an end to the battle that took 2 hours and 17 minutes.