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Match details
Fixture: (9) Garbine Muguruza vs (10) Elise Mertens
Date: 12 March 2021
Tournament: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Round: Semifinals
Venue: Dubai, UAE
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $1,835,490
Match timing: Not before 5 pm local time, 6.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel
Garbine Muguruza vs Elise Mertens preview
Two of the most in-form players in the world will clash on Friday, as ninth seed Garbine Muguruza takes on 10th seed Elise Mertens in the Dubai Tennis Championships semifinals.
Showing the kind of form that won her the French Open and Wimbledon titles, Muguruza has been almost unstoppable this season. The former World No. 1 has already made the final in two of the four tournaments she has played, and is aiming to make it a third in Dubai.
After beginning her campaign against Irina-Camelia Begu, Muguruza has shown the door to three quality opponents in succession - Amanda Anisimova, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. Her last two wins - over Swiatek and Sabalenka - would have greatly boosted her confidence given how well those two have been playing this year.
The Spanish ace will now hope to make it three in a row by knocking out Gippsland Trophy champion Elise Mertens.
Mertens has been almost equally impressive over the past few months. She ended 2020 with the runner-up plate at Linz, and went one better in her first tournament of 2021.
The Belgian is now back in the semifinals of a big event again, although this time she had to work harder. Mertens was pushed to the brink by Jessica Pegula in the quarters; the Australian Open women's doubles champion had to save two match points before winning 11 games in a row to book her place in the last-four.
Garbine Muguruza vs Elise Mertens head-to-head
Garbine Muguruza leads the head-to-head over Elise Mertens 1-0, having won their solitary encounter - at the 2016 US Open. The Spaniard dropped the first set but rebounded to win the match 2-6, 6-0, 6-3.
Garbine Muguruza vs Elise Mertens prediction
With both Garbine Muguruza and Elise Mertens looking to attack right from the word go, this match will likely come down to first serve efficiency and unforced error count.
Mertens had a horror showing in the first set against Pegula, committing as many as six double faults. But she improved her level as the match went on, and by the third set she was getting an impressive 80% of her first serves in.
A repeat of her first-set performance will likely spell doom for the Belgian, as Muguruza won't hesitate to punish her with some blazing returns. Mertens also needs to keep her errors in check if she wants to put pressure on the Spaniard.
The Belgian spent 2 hours 47 minutes on the court battling against Pegula, whereas Muguruza needed just 1 hour and 51 minutes to dismiss Sabalenka. The Spaniard comes into this contest the fresher of the two, and she has also been striking the ball with confidence this whole week.
If Muguruza can keep serving well and finding the lines with her groundstrokes, she is likely to march her way to Saturday's grand finale.
Prediction: Garbine Muguruza to win in two tight sets.
