Garbine Muguruza stormed into the quarterfinals of the 2017 Australian Open with a convincing 6-2, 6-3 win over Sorana Cirstea on Sunday. Muguruza dominated Cirstea right from the get-go as she finished the match in just 65 minutes. Key to Muguruza’s triumph was her much-improved service game.
In her previous match against Sevastova, Muguruza only won 72 percent of her first serve points. Muguruza was much better in that department this time around, winning 24 of her 28 first serve points for an impressive 86 percent success rate. That helped the French Open champion in applying pressure against Cirstea as she kept the Romanian on the back foot for majority of the match.
Next up for Muguruza is a quarterfinal clash with Coco Vandeweghe. Muguruza will fancy her chances against Vandeweghe as she has fared extremely well against the American of late. Muguruza defeated Vandeweghe in straight sets in their last meeting at the Cincinnati Masters last year. Muguruza will have no problem duplicating that feat, especially if she can sustain her highly-efficient play. She committed just nine unforced errors in her fourth-round win against Cirstea.
Coco Vandeweghe barged into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open with an emphatic 6-2, 6-3 win over world no. 1 Angelique Kerber on Sunday. Vandeweghe put forth an extreme masterclass, dominating the defending champion right from the get-go and finishing the match in just one hour and eight minutes. She outhit Kerber in the winners department, 30-7. In this tournament thus far, Vandeweghe is averaging a whopping 35.3 winners per match.
Next up for Vandeweghe is a quarterfinal clash with Garbine Muguruza. This will be the fourth meeting between the two stars in the WTA Tour with Vandeweghe holding a 2-1 head-to-head advantage. For Vandeweghe to record the all-important victory this coming Tuesday, she needs to bring her aggressive style and continue her strong net play in the quarterfinals. She won 10 of her 15 net points against Kerber in the previous round.
Vandeweghe is 5-1 in her last six matches.
Writer’s Prediction
Vandeweghe (+150) edges past Muguruza in a three-set thriller.
Create a betting account now and get in on all the action of tennis’ first Grand Slam of the season: the 2017 Australian Open.
