Garbine Muguruza performs well against Clara Tauson at the US Open

Garbine Muguruza celebrates improvements to her game at the US Open. 

Garbine Muguruza was happy at the way she played her best at the US Open Tuesday. The Spaniard had some challenges from Clara Tauson but remained the stronger player on the court, winning 6-3, 7-6(5) on Court 5 at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. It marked the second major win this season for the ninth-seeded Spaniard and one that she truly needed to make a stand in the tournament.

The Spaniard came into the final slam with a heavy slump, losing early at Wimbledon, Toronto, and Cincinnati. With early exits seven times in nine appearances, it leaves Tauson a chance to reach the second round in consecutive years. The teenage Dane worked three matches in Concord and two in Cleveland, giving her a chance to push through in New York. Facing Muguruza in the first round could be intimidating, but getting on the right track might bring an upset on the horizon.

The Spaniard chose to serve first and delivered a big statement to Tauson, moving well to score easy points. Tauson had a chance to close and level up easy, but unforced errors forced the game to deuce. She battled back the problems, finding her rhythm back to hold her third AD point. The tension in her racket was becoming an obvious problem for the Dane as she racked up the errors on Muguruza, who wanted to get back into leading. Needing to force deuce, the 28-year-old rallied to hold off Clauson and lead 2-1.

Clauson battled her racket, which was the cause of 12 errors, but two double faults in the fourth made it worse, handing Muguruza the break. The ninth seed easily consolidated on serve for a 4-1 grip of the set, giving her a much-needed boost of confidence. Tauson worked hard to get back into action, battling Muguruza on serve in the sixth. The Spaniard took her chances on deuce, but after a breakpoint failed, the Dane fought two more AD point opportunities to cap one down.

Having invested so much energy into the previous game, Muguruza fired off a shutout in the seventh, putting Tauson under pressure. The teenager focused on the forehand and avoided another deuce draw with Muguruza to hold again. Finding her core tennis game, Muguruza took care of business in the ninth, holding Tauson to a point to finish the set in 46 minutes.

The ninth seed had a strong offense on both serves that drew errors from the Danish teen. Tauson racked up 23 errors that took away from the nine winners she managed to score. Seeing the Spaniard on top of her game, the 19-year-old needed more to push the match deep.

She won the first game on serve in the second set and went hunting for the break in the next game, leveling with Muguruza on the score. They went to deuce, with Muguruza making Tauson pay with an easy path to hold serve. Nothing was simple about the third game as the Dane fell behind, saving two breakpoints for deuce. After three breaks and eight minutes elapsed, Tauson found the last point easy to put away before suddenly calling for the trainer.

Her right knee caused her discomfort, and after the consultation, she received a medical timeout. After being taped up for three minutes, play resumed with Muguruza serving for a shot to tie. The Spaniard almost had a serve to love, but two points from Tauson made their mark. A third was denied by the ninth seed, who leveled on a winner and went hunting for more. Muguruza dug in when she opened the fifth, drawing errors from Tauson. It led to the first break of the set, but Tauson broke right back in the sixth to tie the score. The Dane backed up the break, adding pressure to Muguruza, who loosened up and allowed her opponent too much comfort on the court.

The Spaniard dug in on serve to bring the score to four-all, but Tauson was playing better at the business end of the set. She went to deuce in the ninth, playing every point and staying right with the returns. On rally for the last point, Tauson stayed with the pace until she watched Muguruza hit wide, clinching her a 5-4 lead and a heavy momentum.

The 19-year-old went into the tenth game with three set points, only to see Muguruza smash a line drive winner. The Spaniard drew an error from her second serve and another to save every set point. On deuce, Muguruza forced another error out of Tauson but blew the AD point with a shot into the net. She kept up the strategy to draw errors until one from the Dane landed long to give her a five-all score.

Despite lost opportunities, Tauson’s strengths were not all gone as she proved her worth in the 11th, holding Muguruza back on serve. The Spaniard aced her way to a shutout, forcing a tiebreak with Tauson, who didn’t have as much experience as her seasoned opponent. Instead of being in control, Tauson had the double minibreak for a 3-0 run against Muguruza. The ninth seed got three points on the board but still trailed a minibreak of the Dane.

She gained one to tie at four-all on a wide return from the teen but lost her chance to lead on a long ball from the baseline. She got to five-all on a dramatic rally that ended with Tauson’s error. Muguruza blasted an ace for match point and gained the win on an error into the net to stay in the tournament after 1 hour and 39 minutes.