[Sport] Garbiñe comes back against Sabalenka to sneak into the semi-finals in Dubai for the third time

[#Steeven.™]

The Spanish is the tennis player of the year with the most matches won (16) after adding her thirty-eighth triumph against a 'top10'

Garbiñe Muguruza feels good about the Middle East and 2021 suits him well. The Spanish came back today a set to Aryna Sabalenka in the quarters of the WTA 1,000 in Dubai to stand for the second week in a row among the best four of a tournament thanks to a score of 3-6, 6-3 and 6-2. After Doha, where she advanced to the final, with Sabalenka as one of her victims in the second round, she repeats in the emirate.

There are already 16 games won this season, the most since she breaks with Jessica Pegula, defeated this Thursday by Elise Mertens (5-7, 7-5 and 6-0). Garbi's penultimate obstacle to the title will be precisely the Belgian.

Sabalenka is one of the players who especially annoy Garbiñe. The Minsk tennis player hits her harder and has more wingspan. If she is inspired by her blows it is difficult to stop and gives the feeling that the game depends on her, as it happens are the Czechs Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova.

Aryna had to save the first two break balls already in the opening game. Adriana Forti, the Spanish physiotherapist, had mounted the tripod with the camera as every day so that Conchita Martínez received the same sensations as on the track. The Aragonese left her confinement in Doha yesterday after testing positive for coronavirus upon her arrival in Qatar.

Sabalenka, to his own, did break in the fourth round and shot the score to 4-1. Muguruza wanted to hold on to the set, but her rival was taking her from one side to the other with an infinite carousel of winning shots. The world number eight scored the sleeve, the first that Caracas lost this week.

 

Reaction of the caraqueña
Another 'break' in the continuation for Aryna seemed to accelerate the outcome. Garbiñe was attending a bombardment with shots that came at 185 kilometers per hour. However, she put attitude, punches and a shield to match the score. She was going to fight to the last ball.

The Belarusian failed with the backhand and asked her coach for explanations. She is a temperamental gamer who can leave games at any time. She had given up two consecutive aces and the score was 4-1 for her opponent.

The former world number one signed the tables. She went from less to more and showed it with another break at the beginning of the third set. What happens is that she afterwards she delivered her service with a double fault. Nerves were on both sides of the court, but Muguruza's experience tipped the balance in moments of truth.

Only with rackets you don't win games. The outcome was very reminiscent of last week in Doha. The win gives Garbi her thirty-eighth win over a top-10, matching the win-loss statistic against the racquet's elite.

It is the third time in her career that she has sneaked into the semi-finals in Dubai. She had previously achieved it in the 2015 and 2018 editions. In that round she stayed. The brand new semifinalist finally finds a prize for her consistency in her ranking. She climbs two places at once, going from 16 to 14 at the expense of Iga Swiatek and Victoria Azarenka.