World No. 15 Garbine Muguruza of Spain will take on World No. 34 Veronika Kudermetova in the first round of the WTA Qatar Open on Monday, March 1, with the match likely to begin at around 11 am local time (12 noon BST or 7 pm Eastern Time previous day). Get the live streaming options of this Garbine Muguruza v Veronika Kudermetova match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Garbine Muguruza v Veronika Kudermetova Head to Head
Muguruza beat Kudermetova in their only meeting in Dubai last year, winning the Round-of-16 contest 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. They were also supposed to meet in the quarterfinal in Hobart in 2020, but Muguruza couldn’t take the court due to an illness, handing Kudermetova a walkover.
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Muguruza Packs a Punch in Initial Rounds
Two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza will begin her Qatar Open challenge on Monday. The unseeded Spaniard has had a solid start to the 2021 season and comes into the tournament with a 9-3 record this year.
Having begun the season in Abu Dhabi, Muguruza won her first two rounds with ease before falling to Greece’s Maria Sakkari in the Round of 16.
In the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne, the 27-year-old looked unstoppable as she stormed into the final, dropping just 10 games in her first four rounds, which included a 6-2, 6-2 rout of second seed Sofia Kenin in the quarterfinal and a 6-1, 6-0 drubbing of eighth seed Marketa Vondrousova in the semifinal.
An eighth career title, however remained elusive as she went down fighting to No. 1 seed Ash Barty, who picked up her ninth career title with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory in the final.
Having got into a good rhythm in Melbourne, last year’s Australian Open runner-up, Muguruza, aimed to make another deep run into the tournament this year, and she started off strongly, flying past her first three opponents without breaking a sweat, but met her match in Naomi Osaka in the Round of 16.
Having seized the early initiative, the Spaniard looked to be headed to the last eight, but she squandered two match points, and allowed Osaka to stage a remarkable comeback in the contest.
The 2016 French Open and 2017 Wimbledon champion, Muguruza reached the final of Qatar Open in 2018, only to finish runner-up to Petra Kvitova, who fought back from a set down to score a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.
Last year, the Spaniard had reached the quarterfinals in Doha before being beaten by Barty in another three-setter.
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Kudermetova Has Cooled Off After a Sizzling Start
Taking on Muguruza in the first round will be Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova, who had a sensational start to the year, reaching the final in Abu Dhabi, but has somewhat cooled off since then and comes into the tournament on the back of two consecutive defeats.
Brushed aside by Simona Halep in the third round of the Australian Open, the World No. 34 made a first round exit from Adelaide International, falling to Shelby Rogers in straight sets last Monday.
Still looking to win her first title on the tour, the 23-year-old right-hander is 8-4 this year. Beginning the season with a convincing first-round win over Estonia’s Annet Kontaveit in Abu Dhabi, Kudermetova kept growing in confidence as she ousted Italian Bianca Turati in the second round, Spaniard Paula Badosa in the Round of 16, second seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinal and another Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the semifinal to reach her maiden WTA final.
But a first title remained out of reach as the in-form Aryna Sabalenka raced to a 6-2, 6-2 victory in the final.
The Russian, who broke into the top 100 two years ago, won a WTA 125K title in Guadaljara in 2019.
Muguruza v Kudermetova Prediction and Tip
This should be a hard-hitting battle between two aggressive all-court players. However, one can expect the experienced Muguruza to advance into the next round.
Tip: Muguruza to win: 2/5 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA Doha Open will be played from March 1 to 7. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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