TWO-TIME Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza has added more silverware to her cabinet, claiming victory in the 2021 WTA 1000 Dubai Tennis Championships overnight. The Spaniard defeated Junior and WTA Tour Grand Slam doubles winner Barbora Krejcikova in the final, with a tight 7-6 6-3 victory. It was Muguruza’s first title in four years after coming runner-up last month in Melbourne, and her first at a tournament not in Monterrey in four year.

“It was such a tight match,” Muguruza said post-match. “It could have gone either way. I feel like the finals are very hard, the two best players of that week, and I had to work hard for it tonight. Very happy about it.”

“I always believed every time that I go out there, I’m one of the players that can get the trophy,” Muguruza added. “There is proof this week, yes, but I’ve always believed that, in good moments and in bad moments.”

The match lasted two hours and eight minutes, with the first set going all the way deep into a tiebreaker before Muguruza emerged successful, taking it out 8-6 in the tiebreaker. Both players were broken in the opening two games of the match, before Nuguruza moved a break ahead in the sixth game, and then Krejcikova returned serve with a break of her own. Once again the Spaniard had a chance to capitalise off three set points in the twelfth game of the first set, but again the Czech stood up, forcing a tiebreaker. Thi time it would be Muguruza on the back foot, facing a set point at 6-5 in the tiebreak, but won three of the next four points to claim the set.

“I had to work so hard for it in the first set, the difference of one point, and I’m happy that it went my way,” Muguruza said.

Much like the first set, the Spaniard broke her opponent in the opening service game, but this time saved three break points to ensure she went to 2-0 rather than another 1-1 battle. That would be the last break until the last game of the match when she dominated Krejcikova’s serve for three match points and took advantage to become the WTA 1000 title winner.

“Everybody that is playing well and feels good [any] week can get the trophy, this is how hard women’s tennis is now,” Muguruza said. “Very happy that I managed for two weeks to be able to reach the last match, because it’s never easy.

“You have all these opponents, having to play ten matches in a row, makes it difficult. It’s very hard, and I’m happy that I managed well. “Physically it was hard but I was happy that I could handle that.”

Overall, Muguruza served seven aces to one, and only one double fault to three, capitalising on 64.9 and 53.3 per cent of her first and second serve points off a 65.5 per cent clip. Krejcikova managed to still win 61.9 and 52.9 per cent of her points respectively, but was lower off a 55.3 per cent first serve efficiency, and was broken four times to two.

The result has seen Muguruza move up to 13th in the world, leap frogging three players in Jennifer Brady, Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek, but still sits more than 800 points off world number 12, Belinda Bencic. Krejcikova on the other hand made massive strides uo the world rankings to jump into 37th overall (a rise of 26 places) to now be the fourth highest ranked Czech singles player.

DUBAI TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS FINAL RESULT:

[9] Garbine Muguruza (ESP) defeated Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) 7-6 6-3

Picture credit: Getty Images