The previous three encounters of Garbine Muguruza and Daria Kasatkina were all three-setters, two of which featured escapes from match point down, and their today’s match-up in the first round of the Qatar Total Open was another rollercoaster in which the Spaniard prevailed after wasting a 5-2 lead and one match point in the second set.
The eleventh-seeded Muguruza opened the match with a 2-0 lead and was a point away from 3-2, but the former world No.10 Kasatkina responded with a double break to earn the 3-2 lead herself. The two-time Grand Slam champion Muguruza then won a series of points to quickly go 5-3 up and even though Kasatkina leveled to 5-5, it was the Spaniard who victoriously closed out the set.