Barbora Krejcikova and Garbine Muguruza will renew hostilities in a crucial clash from the Teotihuacán group. Krejcikova and Muguruza both suffered first-up defeats at the WTA Finals, making this clash a virtual do-or-die situation. There’s some added spice to this match-up after their most recent meeting, which came at the US Open, ended on a bitter note as Muguruza accused Krejcikova of gamesmanship. Krejcikova has won the last couple of matches between the pair, can she make it three in a row?
WTA Finals Day 3 Predictions
Barbora Krejcikova vs Garbine Muguruza
Head-to-head: Krejcikova 2-1 Muguruza
Krejcikova has hit some of her worst form of the season as the year comes to an end. The Czech has now suffered four consecutive losses, the first time that has happened to her this year. To be fair, those losses were all against very tough opponents, beaten by Paula Badosa in Indian Wells, Angelique Kerber and Belinda Bencic at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals and finally a straight set loss to Anett Kontaveit in her opening match of the week in Guadalajara. The 25-year-old seems to have run out of gas after such a long, successful season, she didn’t look anywhere near her best in a 3-6 4-6 loss to Kontaveit on day one of the tournament.
Garbine Muguruza came agonisingly close to starting her Guadalajara campaign off with a win, ultimately succumbing to Karolina Pliskova in a final set tiebreaker. Muguruza had her chances after winning the first set and going up an early break in the deciding set. However, it wasn’t to be for the Spaniard who made too many unforced errors. Still, it wasn’t Muguruza’s worst match by any stretch of the imagination and there were signs that she could still be a threat this week.
The pair have already gone head-to-head on three previous occasions in 2021. Muguruza won their first match-up, a 7-6 6-3 victory in the Dubai final at the start of the season. Krejcikova emerged victorious on a couple of occasions during the US Open swing, a 6-1 6-7 6-2 win in Cincinnati, followed by a 6-3 7-6 win in New York.
It’s hard not to side with Muguruza here. Ultimately, Krejcikova seems cooked and the Czech was way off the pace for the majority of her match against Kontaveit. Muguruza played a decent match against Pliskova despite the tight loss. Muguruza will surely be extra motivated to win this match given the sour taste that was left in her mouth when she lost to Krejcikova in dubious circumstances at the US Open a few months ago.
Muguruza also has the added advantage of strong crowd support this week, so there’s a few motivating factors in her favour. Krejcikova has shown that she can be a tough match-up for Muguruza, but she just doesn’t seem to have much left to give at this stage of the season. Expect Muguruza to be too strong.
Prediction: Muguruza in 2
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