The semifinals are here! After a long week at the Monterrey Open, only four players are left standing. Three of them are Grand Slam champions. All came through their quarterfinal clashes in straight sets, so one would expect them to be feeling fresh and confident heading into the last four. But who will book their place in Sunday\u2019s final?<\/p>\n
Head-to-head: 4-2 Muguruza<\/strong><\/p>\n Magdalena Rybarikova had a tough start to the season, but her from has really picked up in Monterrey. Indeed, it has been her best tournament of the season, highlighted by an impressive 6-4 6-4 win over Sachia Vickery in the quarterfinals. Defending champion Garbine Muguruza, meanwhile, has done very well so far in her title defense. Yesterday, she got her first win in three meetings over Kristina Mladenovic. But it didn\u2019t come easily. Muguruza made a sharp start and looked to be coasting to victory, but Mladenovic rallied from 5-1 down in the second set, only to fall just short in a tiebreak to hand Muguruza a 6-1 7-6 win.<\/p>\n Muguruza leads the head-to-head between the two players 4-2, including victory in their last two meetings. Indeed, Muguruza has lost just four games in her last two matches with the Slovakian, beating Rybarikova 6-1 6-1 in 2017 in the Wimbledon semifinals and then the third round of the US Open. This match will likely be decided by whether or not Muguruza can stay patient when Rybarikova hits her off-speed shots. If Muguruza cannot, then Rybarikova will get enough unforced errors to win. However, given how Muguruza has improved match-by-match in Mexico, and her overall attitude this week, expect her to find a way past Rybarikova.<\/p>\n Prediction: Muguruza in two
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