WHAT HAPPENED: No. 9 Garbiñe Muguruza was down an early break to Donna Vekic in the first set, and was broken while serving for the match in the second set. But through it all, the Spaniard remained calm under pressure to survive a grueling first-round battle and make a winning start to the 2021 US Open.
Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam winner, had struggled to string together victories in the leadup to the US Open, going 1-2 through the US Open Series after reaching the quarterfinals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She needed a few games to settle into the contest on Monday, and found her range at the right time to win 7-6(4), 7-6(5) as action kicked off on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“It was a very tough first round,” Muguruza said. “I think Donna probably [would have been a] seeded player in recent years, so having to play her in the first round was difficult and I could see it on court. It was two close sets that I was happy to close in tiebreaks, which can go any way at that point.”
She had to find her way out of a tight, 73-minute opening set marked by marathon, high-intensity service games against Vekic. The No. 57-ranked Croatian took advantage of Muguruza’s sluggish start and created five break opportunities in the opening set, firing a crisp forehand cross-court passing shot to take a 4-2 lead.
But Muguruza kept calm under pressure, never letting her opponent run away with it as she broke straight back to send them into a tiebreak. After closing out the first set on the finest of margins — just one mini-break made the difference — Muguruza charged ahead in the second as she took a 3-0 lead.
Vekic, who had looked increasingly frustrated by Muguruza’s easy firepower as the Spaniard blazed through the set, raised her level emphatically in response. Two points from defeat as Muguruza served for the match at 5-3, Vekic attacked her opponent’s second serves and broke back to take them into another tiebreak. But once again, it was Muguruza who handled the high-pressure moments, crunching return winners and blasting a forehand winner to pull away with the victory after two hours and 22 minutes.
WHAT IT MEANS: Muguruza, one of 13 Grand Slam champions in the women’s draw, passed a big test against Vekic, one of the toughest outs in the first round. The Spaniard has landed in the loaded bottom half of the draw, which is anchored by No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka and two-time champion Naomi Osaka, the No. 3 seed.
Muguruza now awaits the winner of Andrea Petkovic and Irina-Camelia Begu, as she seeks to make it past the second round in New York for the first time since 2017. That year, Muguruza reached the fourth round, her best result in nine US Open appearances. This tournament remains the only Grand Slam event where Muguruza has yet to reach at least the quarterfinals, having won Roland Garros in 2016, Wimbledon in 2017, and appeared in the final at the 2020 Australian Open.
“I have always come [to the US Open] super prepared and for whatever reason, I don't know, my game didn't click,” Muguruza reflected. “But I don't think about that now. Every year I come, and I'm like, ‘You know what? That doesn't matter. It's a new year. Nobody remembers, nobody cares what happened in the past.’
“I just have to go through the first rounds, which I didn't manage to do before, and then get the confidence in playing in these courts.”
For former World No. 19 Vekic, another big scalp eluded the talented Croatian player as she continues to make her way back after undergoing knee surgery in February. She was going for her second Top 10 win of the year, after stunning Sabalenka at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
MATCH POINT: With the victory, Muguruza improves her win-loss record to 8-8 at the US Open. She is on course for a mouth-watering fourth-round clash against No. 18 seed Victoria Azarenka, in what would be their first Grand Slam meeting.
