Elena Rybakina flows through Garbine Muguruza at WS Open

Elena Rybakina swings big during her second round match against Garbine Muguruza at the Western & Southern Open. 

Elena Rybakina nearly swept her way clear to the third round at the Western & Southern Open Wednesday. The reigning Wimbledon champion took down Garbine Muguruza in spectacular fashion, winning 6-3, 6-1 on Court 4 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. The 28-year-old Spaniard didn’t have her best against the youngster, committing five double faults and numerous errors from the second serve.

It was the battle of the Wimbledon champions, where one was at her best while the other struggled for consistency. In Toronto, the Spaniard had a good first round but flopped against Belinda Bencic. The Kazak put in time in each tournament since the hard court season returned but didn’t go deep into any. With less than two weeks before the final slam, she and Muguruza wanted to put their best into play and keep it high.

Rybakina got the competition underway with a blast of right-handers that tore through the eighth seed. Eyeing her chance to break ahead, the 23-year-old drew the errors from Muguruza to get the break. The Kazak laid out a serve to love that woke up the Spaniard to get her game underway. Cheers from the crowd went the way of Muguruza, who had to work hard defending against Rybakina’s forehand returns. Two AD points were the effort made from the eighth seed to get on the board, but the dominant offense from her adversary only widened the gap.

With a 4-1 hold on Muguruza, Rybakina put the pressure on more, bringing out a double fault that turned the tables. Rybakina threatened with a breakpoint, and though she was pushed to deuce, the Kazak assured the break in the sixth. Muguruza broke back for her second of the set, hoping she could tie another win along with it. Reeling errors out of Rybakina helped her build confidence in her two-handed swing, but the 23-year-old had the balls back in hand.

Serving for the first set, Rybakina timed her shots, drawing errors from Muguruza that gave her three set points. She put it away on a crosscourt ace for the serve to love and the set in 37 minutes.

Muguruza tried to better herself, digging into her serve while playing defense against Rybakina. The 23-year-old brought up a breakpoint chance but was denied the easy way to win. It set off a tug of war for the AD point, which by the third break went to Rybakina. The Spaniard broke back after putting intensity into her service, cutting the Kazak in response. She almost had her first lead of the match, until a mistake opened the door for the Wimbledon champ. After a three-break fight, Rybakina came out with the double break in hand.

Muguruza had another chance to break back, but the effort from Rybakina stunned the opposition. The 23-year-old fought from 15-40 to force deuce and hold serve, taking the wind out of the eighth seed. It was 4-1 for Rybakina, who scored the triple break and consolidated all that work with a hold for 5-1. Muguruza was on the edge of defeat, serving out the seventh with a pair of free points to start. Once the 23-year-old found her first point, she ran off with the win on a final double fault from Muguruza, ending a 1 hour and 14 minute day on the court.