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Match details
Fixture: (14) Garbine Muguruza vs Zarina Diyas
Date: 12 February 2021
Tournament: Australian Open 2021
Round: Third round (Round of 32)
Venue: Melbourne, Australia
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt
Prize money: AUD $80 million
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | India - Sony Six
Garbine Muguruza vs Zarina Diyas preview
14th seed Garbine Muguruza takes on World No. 83 Zarina Diyas in the third round of the 2021 Australian Open on Friday.
After losing in the third round at Abu Dhabi in January, Muguruza was in devastating form at the Yarra Valley Classic last week. Ruthless as ever, the Spaniard dropped just 10 games before losing to World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the final.
Muguruza has picked up from where she left off last week. The two-time Slam champion has cruised through each of her matches at the Australian Open without a hint of trouble.
Following a 6-4, 6-0 beatdown of Margarita Gasparyan, Muguruza swatted aside Ludmilla Samsonova 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday.
Up next for her is Kazakhstan's Zarina Diyas, who is looking to overcome a major form slump. The former World No. 31 reached the quarterfinals at Shenzen last year but failed to find her rhythm when the tour resumed post the pandemic. She went on a five-match losing streak before winning one at Strasbourg, only to lose her next couple of matches.
Diyas' 2021 Australian Open performance will, however, have given her a huge boost of confidence. She showcased her fighting spirit to knock out World No. 66 Bernarda Pera 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the second round, after having beaten Tamara Zidansek in the first.
Garbine Muguruza vs Zarina Diyas head-to-head
Garbine Muguruza leads Zarina Diyas 1-0 in the head-to-head, having won their solitary meeting at the 2020 Shenzen Open. But the Spaniard had to dig deep to see off the Diyas challenge, eventually coming through 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Garbine Muguruza vs Zarina Diyas prediction
Garbine Muguruza is the heavy favorite to win this match. She looks absolutely dialed-in and determined to go one better this time, having finished as the runner-up last year.
Muguruza faced an aggressive opponent in the second round in the form of Liudmila Samsonova, who powered seven aces and 15 winners past the Spaniard. In contrast, Muguruza served just one ace and had eight winners to show for on a relatively quiet day.
But her racquet leaked only 14 unforced errors, as compared to her opponent's 35. That is a hugely encouraging stat for Muguruza, who has been known to go through bouts of erratic play in the past.
The 27-year-old also didn't face a single break point in the entire match, which proves how completely she was in control of her serve.
The stats would make for scary reading for someone like Zarina Diyas, who is only just rediscovering her form. The Kazakh does have an aggressive baseline game, but staying with an in-form Muguruza is an uphill task for even the best players in the world.
If Diyas can't make early inroads on the Muguruza serve, she runs the risk of letting the Spaniard run away with the match.
Prediction: Garbine Muguruza to win in straight sets.
