Muguruza puts together near perfect win at Wuhan Open

Garbine Muguruza dominated the competition with great focus a relentless force at the Wuhan Open Tuesday. The Spaniard showed no mercy to qualifier Viktorija Golubic who nearly got blanked in a 6-0, 6-1 score on centre court at the Wuhan Optical Valley Tennis Centre. Muguruza showed that she was on a mission to make a strengthened stance on court in a match that took under an hour to finish.

They last played on the hard courts two years ago where the Swiss player took down the Spaniard in a quarterfinal at Linz. Muguruza was on the path of payback as she took care of business against Alison van Uytvanck Monday blanking her in the second set. With the series even between herself and Golubic, the world number 12 would certainly hunt down another win to continue playing in China.

She began by serving up a quick game that Golubic managed to get a point on. From the first game on, the Swiss star never allowed herself to be shutout but new that holding serve would be difficult as she found out in the second. The next four games flew by with Muguruza earning a triple break for the bagel where she gave Golubic eight points in total that concluded the opening set in 22 minutes. Muguruza served 67 percent but scored eight of ten from the first and four of five from the second. While she didn’t see much from the return side, she had achieved a shutdown of her opponent’s second serve which never came together due to three double faults.

There was a lot of elements that Golubic needed to change up in order to be a more forceful opponent to Muguruza. It came against her serve in the first where she fought to get ahead before deuce was achieved by the 24 year old. She needed just one break to get the victory and consolidated it with a break of serve in the second holding Golubic back. She put together a strong response in the third giving up just one point that made it 3-0 in favor of the world number 12.

When it looked as if Golubic was out of ideas and down 5-0, she put together a serious push to not be double bageled in the sixth. She faced three match points killing off each one to force deuce that began the stalemate she wished to conduct. They went four breaks where she had the AD point three times to make it a charm and put up her first game winner. The fight was alive in her but not enough to stop the speed Muguruza wanted to remain at. Despite letting Golubic get to deuce, where she saved two more match points, the third would not get away from her bringing a close to the festivities in 58 minutes.

With everything going the right way for the former world number one, she will try to keep the level of success she had built before going against the winner between Katerina Siniakova and Caroline Garcia.

Sabalenka bounces Svitolina out of Wuhan Open

Elina Svitolina didn’t have the pieces in check at the Wuhan Open Tuesday. She made some key mistakes that included a number of double faults that gave Aryna Sabalenka the green light to advance with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 win on Court One at the Wuhan Optical Valley Tennis Centre.

This was a first career meeting between the two top 20 players and an important moment for the Ukrainian after a three-week break from the courts. While she has kept in shape, the world number six would want to get back to her winning ways against the Belorussian who has been having a great season so far. The world number 20 went to the round of 16 at the US Open after winning the tournament in New Haven. With the tour moving into China and her first time in the dance, the 20-year-old would eye an upset and continue her march forward.

She started the match by laying down a crosscourt winner that began her service hold against Svitolina. She answered back in kind with a hold in the second that kept things level. They ran through four service games before a break point chance for Svitolina occurred in the fifth but was taken away by an ace from the Belorussian. She had to save another one but failed to keep the ball in landing long of the baseline that gave Svitolina the 3-2 lead.

The Ukrainian consolidated the break with a serve to love recording her first ace of the set while achieving a two-game gap. Sabalenka earned a mirrored success in the sixth to bring her within a game of turning things around completely. She did so after a chat with her coach that earned her a break in the eighth serving for a chance to lead.

When she took the ninth, Svitolina called down coach Nick Saviano who took over for Thierry Ascione. Despite his input on what to do to break down Sabalenka, the Belorussian went on to take the game and the set in 33 minutes. While both clearly suffered on the second serve, it was Sabalenka who was strongest with the forehand scoring 17 of 21 for points.

She once again started the set with a good hold followed by a struggling fight for Svitolina to contain her service game. After some efforts, the mission was completed by the 24-year-old to keep the 20-year-old in her sight. Sabalenka kept the heat on Svitolina to falter but she refused to go down at the request of anyone but herself. She got the fifth locked down for a break before trying to widen the gap for herself. She did so with a key hold that gave her momentum in the sixth to try and etch out a third set into play.

Sabalenka tried with all her energy to hold off Svitolina but it was becoming clear that the Ukrainian wanted another chance to contain the match. After another chat with Saviano, Svitolina served for the set but went to deuce as she lost two set points. She kept it together through three breaks capturing the necessary point to force a decider.

Getting dug in was another story as Sabalenka conducted herself to win the first game that led Svitolina in the wrong direction. She began to rack up double faults that easily gave the young Belorussian room to maneuver in more ways than one. When she committed her third of the set it was a four-game runaway for Sabalenka who was breezing with a solid offense. She added a third straight service hold that put Svitolina on the edge of earning another bagel this season. She denied Sabalenka the honor of getting one in the sixth but earned a chance to serve out the set herself. Despite playing on deuce, the 20-year-old succeeded in closing out the match on the AD point that beat Svitolina in 1 hour and 52 minutes.

With another huge defeat of a top ten player under her belt, she’ll take all her momentum to face the winner between Sofia Kenin and Julia Goerges in the round of 16.

Wozniacki maintains straight sets win over Peterson at Wuhan Open

Caroline Wozniacki got herself back on track to win at the Wuhan Open Tuesday afternoon. The Dane who had a rough opening set took care to rout Rebecca Peterson in the final set winning 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court at the Wuhan Optical Valley International Tennis Centre.

This was the first time the two with the Dane needing a solid win to start the WTA premiere event. She dropped her opening round match in Tokyo losing to Camila Giorgi in three sets. With little response to come back, she’ll try to maintain her status as the second ranked player in the world and extend her time in China. Peterson sat on a three match winning streak winning a quick one against Timea Babos due to the Hungarian’s retirement. With plenty of energy in the tank, the Swede would look for her biggest career win against Wozniacki.

Peterson held to open scoring in the match where she had to force deuce before winning it on the second break. Wozniacki responded with a stronger service game that evened the score early yet set a pace for the Dane. She forced the Swede into submission in the third to capture the first break opening the door to dictate early. Peterson fought to keep herself in touch with Wozniacki but after a couple of breaks it ended for her on an unforced error making it 3-1 for the second seed.

Peterson wasn’t out of the running as she pulled off a great hold in the fifth to get her back in contention. Wozniacki wouldn’t let her get another as she won the next two games with a clean serve to love in the sixth followed by another break to serve for the set at 5-2. Wozniacki tried to get it done but blew two set points to get Peterson on deuce. The Dane gained another set point chance but blew that one before the Swede took the game away.

Peterson was intent on staying the course fighting every point with the world number two who forced deuce. They went six breaks with the Swede gaining the AD points before it worked out for her in the end. The lead was in danger of slipping away for Wozniacki who allowed two games to get away from her. With another opportunity to end the set, the Dane gained three set points where her fourth attempt came back as a wide return from Peterson ended 56 minutes. She had 22 unforced errors recorded to Wozniacki making just four. It was a major impact that let the Dane have a sigh of relief in hopes to make the second set go differently.

It didn’t as Peterson held to start the set but faced the power of the 28 year old who held before consolidating it with a break in the third. Wozniacki was again in a comfort zone in the fourth where she put down another hold before getting the double break for a 4-1 run. The second seed closed in on victory taking another hold in the sixth, putting Peterson on the edge of defeat. With three match points achieved in the seventh, Wozniacki pressured the Swede to fighting where she saved two match points but not the last bringing a close to her day in 1 hour and 24 minutes.

“It feels great winning my first match here,” Wozniacki said after the match. “It was a very tough one. She’s been playing very well lately and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but am happy to be through to the next round.” For the second time this season, she will go against Olympic goal medalist Monica Puig who she faced in a stressful match in Miami.