Madrid Masters: Muguruza gets easy first-round win over Peng
Garbine Muguruza put together another strong performance at the Mutua Madrid Open Sunday. The world number three had a lot of good moments against Shuai Peng that gave her a 6-4, 6-2 straight sets win on Manolo Santana Court at La Caja Magica.
Having the home court advantage sat well with the world number three in what was her sixth appearance in the tournament. Peng had a lot running against her including her loss to Muguruza back in 2014. While the defeat occurred on a hard court, she knew she would have to be wary of the Spaniard.
After holding serve through three games, the Spaniard eked out a break in the fourth. Muguruza was finding that her forehand was right where she wanted it, landing big hits across that beat Peng constantly, taking a 4-1 lead on the scoreboard.
The Spaniard got in position to close out the set but Peng pulled together a service hold in the ninth that meant Muguruza had to do the same. The 24-year-old had a lot of difficulty getting that done on her own terms as Peng battled to extend the set. After a few break points and over nine minutes played in the tenth game, Muguruza found a way to end the first set, taking nearly an hour to close things out.
Peng got off to a strong start in the second, holding a service game that lasted 10 minutes. Muguruza too held her own service before preparing to hunt down a break. She gained two breaks to begin her march to victory, taking complete control of the set.
The spotlight was on the Spanish number one to get it done on her own terms in the eighth game. Reaching three match points, Muguruza looked set for victory but Peng clawed one of them back. A service winner on Muguruza's second attempt was enough to get the job done in 1 hour and 39 minutes. She will be facing the winner of Donna Vekic and Georgina Garcia Perez in the next round.