By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, March 12, 2021
Garbiñe Muguruza converted her seventh match point subduing Elise Mertens 6-4, 7-6(5) to reach her third final of the season in Dubai.
Photo credit: @DDFT Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Exhaling deeply, Garbiñe Muguruza stared across the net as if confronting a moveable wall.
A relentless Elise Mertens saved six match points, but a resilient Muguruza scaled a stubborn barrier with forward thinking.
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Muguruza snapped a smash converting her seventh match point to tame the tricky Mertens 6-4, 7-6(5) and advance to her third final of the season in Dubai.
Continuing her quest for her eighth career title, Muguruza raised her record to a Tour-best 17-4 on the season surging into her second straight final a week after falling to Petra Kvitova in the Doha title match. Muguruza improved to 16-1 when winning the first set this season with her lone loss from a set up coming to Naomi Osaka, who saved two match points to top the Spaniard en route to the Australian Open crown.
Tomorrow, Muguruza will play for her first WTA championship since she defended Monterrey in 2019.
The former No. 1 will be a heavy favorite against an unseeded opponent 63rd-ranked Czech Barbora Krejcikova. In a match of unseeded semifinalists, Krejcikova used her forehand to control rallies winning nine of the last 11 games defeating 54th-ranked Swiss Jil Teichmann, 7-5, 6-2.
In back-to-back matches, Muguruza has mastered a pair of dangerous doubles partners in powering into her 15th career final.
Yesterday, Muguruza broke serve five times rallying from a set down to repel Aryna Sabalenka 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a baseline clash of hard hitters.
Today, Muguruza faced a much different challenge in control artist Mertens, who partnered Sabalenka to the Australian Open doubles championship last month.
Muguruza attacked Mertens' weaker forehand wing, sometimes over-playing that tactic, but capably dealt with the disappointment of failing to convert six match points by continuing to attack the Belgian, who saved three match points fighting past Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals.
Mertens won the toss, elected to receive and applied immediate pressure. Muguruza double faulted and launched a backhand long to gift the break in the opening game. Early jitters were evident on both sides of the net: Mertens sailed a backhand to give back the break.
Slapping her third double fault, Muguruza faced another break-point dilemma at 15-40. This time, she slid a backhand winner down the line, eventually holding with a bold second serve.
The 16th-ranked Spaniard started thumping her two-handed backhand with damaging intent scoring her second straight break. A crackling 21-shot rally ended with Muguruza following a forehand down the line forward to smack a drive volley winner, sparking a love hold for 4-1.
Dodging breakpoint in the sixth game, Mertens pumped her first ace down the T snapping a four-game slide with her first hold at the 30-minute mark.
Muguruza erased a breakpoint with a stinging serve out wide and Mertens spun a forehand down the line to save set point. Continuing to fight, the Belgian dipped a low backhand pass handcuffing her opponent at net to break back for 4-5.
Centering a deep return to draw an error, Muguruza earned a second set point. Pouncing on a tame second serve, Muguruza blasted a backhand down the line ending the 52-minute opener with her third break of the set. Muguruza's superior power showed on pivotal points: she cracked 13 winners—nine more than Mertens in the set.
The Australian Open doubles champion fended off three break points, including a clever drop shot lob winner combination, holding with a successful challenge in her opening service game of set two.
Undaunted by escape acts from Mertens on serve, Muguruza brought menacing power to crack out the crucial break. Hammering a forehand down the line, the Spaniard streaked forward for a swing volley for triple break point. Muguruza zapped a crosscourt forehand breaking for 5-3.
Serving for her third final of the season, Muguruza denied break point with a gutsy second serve that danced near the service line.
There is no quit in Mertens and she showed her stubbornness saving a match point with a diagonal forehand. Mertends dotted the baseline with a return breaking right back for 4-5.
Staring down two more match points at 15-40, Mertens saved both putting a challenging pass right at Muguruza's face. Shaking it off, Muguruza swept a backhand crosscourt for match point four only to over-hit a backhand. Trying to play the Belgian's weaker forehand wing, Muguruza missed the mark as Mertens stood strong to level after 10 games.
Empowered by fighting off those four match points, Mertens squeezed netted errors from her opponent winning her third straight game for 6-5. A focused Muguruza belted a backhand to break back and force the tie breaker.
Mertens made some tremendous defensive digs coaxing an error to go up the early mini break at 3-1. Muguruza tomahawked a backhand return down the line to get the mini-break back. Then Mertens blinked hitting her fifth double fault. Muguruza unleashed a series of strikes running through five straight points to earn three more match points.
Match-point pressure did not faze Mertens, who fought off a fifth match point then saved a sixth match point when Muguruza netted a backhand.
Serving with her seventh match point in hand, Muguruza moved in behind a forehand volley then tapped the smash to finaly end it in two hours, seven minutes.