WTA Dubai Open: Garbine Muguruza vs Amanda Anisimova 3/9/2021 Tennis Prediction

Ninth seeded Garbine Muguruza of Spain will face unseeded American Amanda Anisimova in the Second Round of the 2021 Dubai Open WTA event. The match is scheduled to take place on Tuesday March 9th, 2021 at 9:00am EST. The two players have never played each other before. Who will win and advance to the Round of 16?

Garbine Muguruza is a former Grand Slam champion and world number one who has struggled with consistency in recent years. Now ranked #16, she has been in very good form to start the year, reaching the Final in Adelaide and then losing to eventual champion Naomi Osaka in the Fourth Round at the Australian Open after dominating the majority of the match. She has struggled with her focus throughout her career but seemingly has that under control now, and looks renewed this year. She has a very aggressive game and is a very intelligent tactician, being able to adapt to every situation and game style. She is currently in good form, having reached the Final in Qatar last week, losing to Petra Kvitova in straight sets. Muguruza will be looking to go one step further and claim the title here in Dubai. 

Currently ranked #32 in the world, Amanda Anisimova was once labelled the future of American tennis. Unfortunately, she has suffered with injuries and loss of form over the past few years and has largely failed to live up to those lofty expectations. She is only 19 years old however, and has plenty of time to fulfill that early promise. She has bags of talent, with a strong serve and all around game. Once she puts everything together mentally and is able to remain injury free she will definitely be a force to reckon with. She withdrew in Doha last week due to an ankle injury but had a promising start here in Dubai, defeating Ana Konjuh in straight sets. 

While Anisimova is a very talented player, she simply cannot compete with the in-form Garbine Muguruza at the moment. She has hardly played any tennis over the past year and is still shaking the rust off. I expect her to get back to normal soon and have an outstanding year, but the Spaniard will stroll to victory here in straight sets.