Roland Garros: Garbine Muguruza vs Danielle Collins preview, head-to-head & prediction | French Open 2020

Match details

Fixture: (11) Garbine Muguruza vs Danielle Collins

Date: 3 October 2020

Tournament: Roland Garros 2020

Round: Third round (Round of 32)

Venue: Paris, France

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Red clay

Prize money: Approx. €38,000,000

Match timing: Approx. 7 pm CEST, 10.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - NBC Sports / Tennis Channel | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP

Garbine Muguruza vs Danielle Collins preview

Number 11 seed Garbine Muguruza will face the unseeded but in-form Danielle Collins on Saturday, in the third round of the 2020 French Open.

Muguruza struggled in her opening match at Roland Garros and had to go to extra-time, beyond 6-6 in the final, to get over the line. But in the second round, she faced no such trouble as she won in straight sets against Kristýna Plíšková.

The Spaniard dropped just five games in her match against the Czech, winning 79% of her first serve points. She also maintained a high rate of first serves at 67%.

Garbine Mugurza has showed decent form on the transition from hardcourts to clay. She had reached the semifinals in Rome a week before the French, going down in a tight three-setter to Simona Halep.

The Spaniard won her maiden Slam title at Roland Garros in 2016, and has since made another semifinal at the tournament. Muguruza came close to ending her three-year Major drought at the Australian Open in January, and would be hoping to get the job done in Paris.

Garbine Muguruza in her match against Kristyna Pliskova

Danielle Collins on her part seems to be on a mission this week to end her poor run at the Slams. The American made light work of breakout teenage sensation Clara Tauson and, like Muguruza, dropped only five games in her second round match.

Collins was on top of the Dane right from the start of the contest. And despite not being convincing on serve, she registered a comfortable win to seal her spot in the third round.

However, the former No. 23 will need to attend to her first serve issues urgently if she hopes of causing an upset against Garbine Muguruza.

Garbine Muguruza vs Danielle Collins head-to-head

Garbine Muguruza won her lone meeting against Danielle Collins at Rome 2019 in three sets. The head-to-head between the pair thus stands at 1-0 in favor of the Spaniard.

Garbine Muguruza vs Danielle Collins prediction

The previous meeting between Garbine Muguruza and Danielle Collins was a close affair, with a dozen breaks of serve. Both players struggled behind their second serve, and the Spaniard came through by virtue of her experience.

Danielle Collins

Their upcoming match at Roland Garros is expected to be much the same, with both players more comfortable while receiving than while serving. Muguruza had a tough time holding her serve all week in Rome and also got broken six times by Tamara Zidansek in her opening match this week.

Collins meanwhile has struggled to maintain a high first serving rate. That is especially detrimental on a claycourt, where a second serve offers more initiative for the returner to hit deep and take control of the rally.

Both Muguruza and Collins are aggressive from the baseline, but the Spaniard is slightly more consistent when in the zone. That might see her through against the erratic Collins if it goes down to the wire.

Prediction: Garbine Muguruza to win in three sets.