By Chris Oddo | Sunday April 7, 2019
After a hard-fought win over Angelique Kerber on Saturday at the Abierto GNP Seguros, Victoria Azarenka didn’t have much left to give on Sunday.
The same could not be said for Garbiñe Muguruza, who bossed her way to her tenth consecutive victory in Monterrey by racing out to a 6-3 3-1 injury before Azarenka was forced to retire due to a right leg injury.
Muguruza has now won ten straight matches at her home away from home in Mexico, and the Spaniard claims her seventh title, and her first of 2019.
Azarenka, playing in her first final since 2016, needed to have her injury assessed after the opening set. She gave her best shot at trying to complete the match but pulled the plug after falling behind by a break in the second set.
Muguruza took control of things from the start of this match and forced Azarenka into many difficult spots with aggressive play, stellar defense and poinpoint accuracy.
She broke three times on eight break points in the opener and won 20 of 35 return points overall in the match, while saving all six break points she faced, all of which came in the first set.
"I did have tough opponents, this year's draw was the best," Muguruza told the crowd after the final, "and, well, I played my best tennis."
Azarenka saved a break point to hold for 1-1 in the second set, but her injury only appeared to get worse. Muguruza, unrelenting, broke for 3-1 before Azarenka pulled the plug.