Reigning French Open champion Garbine Muguruza got her title defense off to a strong start, defeating Italy’s Francesca Schiavone in straight sets during the first round of action in Paris, 6-2,-6-4.
Some fans had their doubts whether the Spanish standout was on the decline this year, but it appears that she’s back to being her dominant self at Roland Garros. Muguruza converted five of her 11 chances at break points, with three of them coming in the first set against the 2010 French Open champion. She also won 72 percent of her chances at points on second serve.
Up next for the fifth-best female tennis player in the world is a rematch against Anett Kontaveit, who stunned her just this past April on the clay courts of Stuttgart in three sets. Although that was one of Muguruza’s more bitter defeats of the season, she also has a win over the young, Estonian under her belt from the first round of last year’s Australian Open.
Another strong showing at a Grand Slam showdown is what Muguruza needs, and there’s no better tournament than the French Open where she can even with Kontaveit. She has a superb 16-3 lifetime record at Roland Garros, having made the quarterfinal round of the event for three-consecutive years to date.
Continuing to play at a high level on clay is World No. 53 Anett Kontaveit, who made quick work of her first-round opponent in Romania’s Monica Niculescu, 7-5, 6-1.
Kontaveit’s power was in full display during that win. She recorded five aces while surrendering none from Niculescu, and she also won 73 percent of her opportunities at points on first serve. The 21-year-old Estonian now holds a rather impressive 4-2 record on clay in the WTA Tour’s main draws this season and 7-3 overall, which includes another top-10 upset over top-ranked Angelique Kerber at the recently-concluded Italian Open.
Although Kontaveit certainly looked confident in her victory against the defending French Open champion in Stuttgart, she did need three sets to close out that match. Considering that Muguruza only went the full three-set distance during her opening-round match in last year’s run to the French Open title, the Tallinn native would need to play her heart out once more to pull off a rare back-to-back upset over the favored Spaniard.
Do note as well that Kontaveit has a mere 3-8 record in Grand Slam tournaments throught her short professional singles career, with all three wins coming from her surprise run at the US Open in 2015. She’s been eliminated from contention in the opening round in her seven other Grand Slam appearances prior to her first-career win at Roland Garros this week.
Writer’s Prediction
Muguruza (-180) gets her revenge on Kontaveit by prevailing victorious in another three-set thriller.
