Miami Open: Niculescu digs deep to defeat Muguruza

Monica Niculescu got her revenge through her dedication and determination at the Miami Open Friday. Having solved the game of Garbine Muguruza, the Romanian dug in to make it a rough day for the Spaniard and win the match with a 7-6(0), 4-6, 6-2 upset on Butch Bucholz court at the Hard Rock Stadium.

The two were playing each other for the first time in three years. Muguruza dominated the Romanian in the previous match, allowing her just two games. And the Spaniard knew that keeping Niculescu aware of their previous result would be essential.

The 31-year-old Niculescu had come out of qualification while dropping just one set, before registering a straight sets win in the opening round. She looked to exploit Muguruza's weaknesses as she played steady and extended points with a variety of spins.

The start of the match was tough for her though, as Niculescu blew her game point and watched Muguruza achieve the break. Muguruza then made sure to hold serve and continue dictating the pace. She scored the double break to make it 3-0 before dropping serve in the fourth to end the shutout for Niculescu.

She gained two more break points by attacking Muguruza’s forehand on the return, and eventually got the break back to level at three all. With the momentum firmly in Niculescu’s favor, the Spaniard then held serve but subsequently went another break down to the Romanian.

Muguruza broke back in the ninth game to regain the lead and serve for the set. Her fierce drives across the court made it hard for Niculescu to maintain her foothold.

But the Romanian leveled at 30-all before the tension got to Muguruza. She let the game get away from her and saw the set extended. A double fault from Niculescu in the 11th gave the 25-year-old a shot at redemption. She drew an error from Niculescu before seeing a short rally end with the Romanian hitting into the net, giving the Spaniard a second chance.

But she still couldn’t lock it down as breaks seemed to be the order of the set. Niculescu got a grip of the 12th game, gaining enough break points to force the tiebreak.

She ran away in the breaker as Muguruza couldn’t get a point through the first four points. Mistakes from the 20th seed and an opponent who had the energy to answer any return she put up made for a one-sided contest. A down the line drive made it a 7-0 finish for Niculescu after 1 hour and 13 minutes.

She continued to march on and dictate the match, playing flawlessly to start the second set. With a 2-0 lead, Niculescu tallied her 16th point in a row. But then all of a sudden two games went in favor of the 20th seed, who was back in contention.

When she won a third straight game, she called down coach Sam Sumyk for the first time in the match who told her to keep composed and hit clean shots to maintain her rhythm.

Holding Niculescu back was again a tough task as she saved three long break points before a game point opportunity arrived. With Muguruza comfortable with her offense, the Romanian had to keep finding ways of matching her opponent. The eighth game saw Muguruza’s strongest defense of the set as she pulled a break to love on Niculescu to serve for the set.

But the Spaniard again found herself behind as Niculescu searched for the path to gain back control. Muguruza eventually gained a set point and after a short rally in the 10th game, the 25-year-old watched the shot from Niculescu go into the net to win the set after 53 minutes.

Both players then left the court to regroup. When the third set got underway, it was Niculescu taking control as she notched up a break and a hold to lead early.

The 20th seed held in the third but struggled to earn a break back as Niculescu was on a mission to hold every single time. That gave her a 3-1 edge over the Spaniard, who was running into trouble on serve as well. She committed her third double fault that opened the gap to 4-1 for the Romanian.

Muguruza tried to cut the margin in half but despite her attempts to stay focused on the break, she couldn’t get it. Niculescu found a way to get a grip on the game and locked it down in the sixth to get within one game of winning the match, with the 25-year-old on the edge.

She reached match point twice but both opportunities were wasted through errors. Muguruza then made her fourth double fault but saved another match point with a winner to continue the seventh. A third try for game point worked out for the Spaniard who watched a low return from Niculescu go into the net.

The ball was back in the hands of the 31-year-old to put Muguruza away, but as she went for an underhanded serve the crowd let out quite a few boos. It didn’t change the end result though as Niculescu finished things with Muguruza hitting a return into the net to complete the upset in 2 hours and 53 minutes.