US Open 2021: Garbine Muguruza vs Andrea Petkovic preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (9) Garbine Muguruza vs Andrea Petkovic

Date: 1 September 2021

Tournament: US Open 2021

Round: Second round (Round of 64)

Venue: New York, United States

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt

Prize money: $40,560,000

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - BBC TV & Radio | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP

Garbine Muguruza vs Andrea Petkovic preview

Garbine Muguruza and Andrea Petkovic came through similarly hard-fought wins on Monday to set up a second-round encounter at the 2021 US Open.

First out on Louis Armstrong Stadium, Muguruza needed two tiebreaker sets to fend off former quarterfinalist Donna Vekic. The Spaniard showed incredible resilience at the business end of both sets to deny her opponent the opportunity at an upset.

Muguruza now faces another tricky opponent in the form of former World No. 9 Petkovic, who came through a first-round match against Irina-Camelia begu 6-2, 7-6(2).

Andrea Petkovic won her sixth careerr title in Cluj-Napoca last month.

Having endured a rough start to the season, Petkovic hit her stride on the claycourts of Europe in July. The German reached her first final since 2015 at her home event in Hamburg, and followed that up with strong performances at Belgrade and Cluj-Napoca in the subsequent weeks.

Petkovic put together a particularly dominant run in the last of the three events. She took out the likes of 2021 breakout players Mayar Sherif and Jacqueline Cristian en route to the title in the Romanian city.

The 33-year-old has also notched up a couple of good wins on the American hardcourts since. Needless to say, she will be brimming with confidence ahead of Wednesday's clash.

Garbine Muguruza vs Andrea Petkovic head-to-head

Andrea Petkovic leads Garbine Muguruza in their head-to-head with a comfortable 3-0 margin. The two have not played since the 2016 Qatar Open, where Petkovic emerged as the winner in three sets.

Garbine Muguruza vs Andrea Petkovic prediction

Garbine Muguruza has never beaten Petkovic in any of their previous meetings.

Given the vast gap in the rankings, Garbine Muguruza will enter this contest as a firm favorite on paper. That said, the Spaniard has had her fair share of trouble finding a way past Andrea Petkovic in the past.

Muguruza has all the weapons in her arsenal that are needed to do well on hardcourts, but her game has never really come together at the US Open. The year's final Grand Slam is the only Major where the 27-year-old is yet to progress past the quarterfinals.

But Muguruza would be feeling confident following the hard-fought win over Vekic, especially after having delivered a strong performance on serve. The Spaniard won well over 75% of the points when she got the first serve in.

The main challenge for Petkovic will be to make inroads into Muguruza's service games. The German has a well-rounded game, but lacks the finishing shot that could help keep the points short. And although she can definitely push her opponent in long rallies, that may not be a viable strategy against a big hitter like Muguruza.

Both women are playing with a lot of confidence, and we can expect a close finish. But Muguruza's strong numbers on serve could help her sail through in the end.

Prediction: Garbine Muguruza to win in three sets.