Su-Wei Hsieh, ranked #90 in the world, has scored the biggest win of her career after defeating World #3 Garbine Muguruza 7-6(1), 6-4. The victory has propelled the Hsieh into a rare third-round birth at a Grand Slam.
Muguruza was the heavy favourite coming into the second-round encounter. However, Muguruza had never played against the crafty style of the 32-year-old Hsieh before and it showed early on.
Hsieh took advantage of some inconsistent play from the Spaniard and was able to hang with the third seed during the first set. Muguruza threw everything at Hsieh but she was able to absorb it and produce some quality tennis, moving Muguruza from side to side.
Both players were relatively solid on serve with only four breaks coming in the first set, so it seemed fair the opening set would be decided by a tiebreak. The Spaniard appeared to be forcing the issue against Hsieh who was moving beautifully around the court. Hsieh refused to miss in the breaker and amazingly only lost one point to capture the first set 7-6(1).
Muguruza did not seem to have any answers against the unconventional play of her opponent and her poor play lead to an early break in the second set. Hsieh continued her steady play and produced some breathtaking shots. The lower ranked player soon had a double break and a 5-2 lead against the giant of the sport. Hsieh had never won against a Top 5 player and nerves clearly got the better of her when serving for this career-best win. Muguruza was valiant and tried to mount a comeback, however, having a second chance to serve for the match at 5-4, Hsieh did not think twice as she raced to victory.
Hsieh will now play 26th seed Agnieszka Radwanska in a very intriguing matchup. This encounter will see two of the best craftswomen in the game face off against eachother for a chance to reach the Australian Open‘s fourth round.
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