San Diego Open 2022: Elena Rybakina vs Garbine Muguruza preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: Elena Rybakina vs Garbine Muguruza.
Date: October 11, 2022.
Tournament: San Diego Open 2022.
Round: First round (Round of 32).
Venue: Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego, California, United States.
Category: WTA 500.
Surface: Hardcourt.
Prize money: $757,900.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK – Amazon Prime Video.
Elena Rybakina vs Garbine Muguruza preview
In a battle between two Wimbledon winners, reigning champion Elena Rybakina will square off against 2017 victor Garbine Muguruza in the first round of the 2022 San Diego Open.
Rybakina started the season on a strong note by finishing as the runner-up at the Adelaide International. Injuries disrupted her momentum after that, as she had to retire and withdraw from her second matches at the Australian Open and the St. Petersburg Open, respectively.
Rybakina's next best result was at the BNP Paribas Open, where she reached the quarterfinals. Her results after that were rather average. Heading into Wimbledon, she managed to win just one match on grass across two warm-up events. But the Kazakh went on to claim her maiden Grand Slam title at the All England Club by defeating Ons Jabeur in the final.
Since her Wimbledon triumph, Rybakina has been quite inconsistent. She crashed out in the first round of the US Open, but made it to the final of the Slovenia Open afterwards. This was followed by another opening-round exit at the Pan Pacific Open. She has now arrived in San Diego on the heels of a semifinal finish at last week's Ostrava Open.
It has been a rather disappointing year for Muguruza, as evident from her 12-16 win loss record so far. She has managed to win two consecutive matches just twice this season, once at the Qatar Open back in February and most recently at the US Open.
Muguruza performed at a decent level at the US Open, but was edged out by old rival Petra Kvitova in the final-set tie-break. She then headed to Tokyo to compete in the Pan Pacific Open. Following a first-round bye, she defeated Despina Papamichail in straight sets to move on to the quarterfinals. She later lost to eventual champion Liudmila Samsonova.
The Spaniard is the defending champion at the WTA Finals. However, based on her results so far, she's not in contention to qualify for the year-end championships this time around.
Elena Rybakina vs Garbine Muguruza head-to-head
Rybakina leads Muguruza 2-1 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2022 Western & Southern Open in straight sets.
Elena Rybakina vs Garbine Muguruza odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Elena Rybakina vs Garbine Muguruza prediction
Muguruza's last two wins have been over players ranked outside the top 150. She has had her ups and downs in the past, but so far this is shaping up to be the worst season of her career in years.
Rybakina will enter this contest feeling quite confident about her chances. She played quite well in Ostrava, defeating players like Madison Keys and Petra Kvitova before losing to the in-form Barbora Krejcikova. The Kazakh served really well throughout the tournament and sits atop the WTA leaderboard with the highest number of aces served this year.
Their previous meeting took place a couple of months ago in Cincinnati, with Rybakina scoring an easy win. Muguruza never really threatened her in any manner as the Kazakh remained in control of the match. Whatever the Spaniard did, the reigning Wimbledon champion did better.
Based on their current form, a similar result can be expected in Rybakina's favor.
Pick: Elena Rybakina to win in straight sets.