2021 WTA Dubai Championships Final Preview: Muguruza vs Krejcikova

The 2021 WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is a premier event running from March 7th to March 14th and featuring some of the world's best players.

The WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is coming to an end with only the final left to be played. The two best players this week have been Garbine Muguruza and Barbora Krejcikova. Not much needs to be said about Muguruza and her form as she has been on a tear for a 2nd consecutive week.

This week she already defeated some stellar opposition such as Swiatek, Sabalenka, and Mertens and she will look to win the trophy this time, something she failed to do in Doha. Some questions about her fitness have arisen through the week and after another long match, it will play a role.

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Krejcikova has also been playing some stellar tennis this week as well. While she has not faced the level of opposition Muguruza has she nonetheless dealt with them in possibly an even more impressive fashion. The Czech player has slowly been arising a strong singles player besides her doubles prowess.

She hits the ball cleanly and with force and no player she faced had an answer for that. She too played a lot of tennis this week as she competed in the doubles as well but she should be fresher. They never played before and anything besides a Muguruza victory would be a shocker despite Krejcikova playing strong tennis.

2021 WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Schedule of Play:

Saturday, March 13th:

16:00 Krejcikova B. (Cze) - Muguruza G. (Esp)

Friday, March 12th:

The semifinals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships are here and we have two amazing matchups. Programme will start at 14:00 CET and in the first match we will see Garbine Muguruza take on Elise Mertens. Muguruza is red hot and she already took down two great players in Swiatek and Sabalenka.

She will look to extend that against Mertens who came back miraculously against Pegula saving match points in the process. Garbine is the clear favourite here and should win the match as she won the only match they ever played albeit in three sets.

In the second semifinal, we will see Krejcikova take on Teichmann. Neither of these players was expected to be here and usually don't go far in premier events like this but both of them deserved their spot. Krejcikova has been especially impressive in her matches dominating all her opponents.

Tomorrow she will have a great opportunity to reach the final against a player whom she should beat. Teichmann did well so far but she had a bit of luck with the draw. She easily lost the only time she played Krejcikova and tomorrow should be no different.

14:00 Muguruza G. (Esp) - Mertens E. (Bel)
16:00 Krejcikova B. (Cze) - Teichmann J. B. (Sui)

Thursday, March 11th:

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship arrived at the quarterfinals day and we will have four amazing matches on the programme headlined by world-class players such as Muguruza and Sabalenka. It will start at 11:00 CET with Krejcikova taking on Potapova. Both did well to reach the quarters and having never played each other it should be exciting. After them, Mertens will take on Pegula in a fascinating matchup between two in-form players. Pegula is having a breakout year but she lost the only match she played against Mertens so she will need to be on the top of her game.

After them, we will see a repeat of last week's match from Doha as Muguruza takes on Sabalenka. Both played well here especially Sabalenka and she will look for revenge in this one considering the loss last week. She was up in the final set there and should have won so that will be on her mind heading into this one. The final match of the day will be between Gauff and Teichman. Gauff has been spectacular at this event but so has Teichman and despite the American being the clear cut favourite, she will have a tough task against Teichman.

11:00 Krejcikova B. (Cze) - Potapova A. (Rus)
12:30 Mertens E. (Bel) - Pegula J. (Usa)
14:00 Muguruza G. (Esp) - Sabalenka A. (Blr)
15:30 Teichmann J. B. (Sui) - Gauff C. (Usa)

Wednesday, March 10th:

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships continue on Wednesday with a packed day of tennis featuring Muguruza, Gauff, Sabalenka, and Pliskova. It will be an 8-match schedule with the programme kicking off at 09:00 CET. The first on the courts will be Kuznetsova who will play Krejcikova. Simultaneously with her, we will get to see Pegula take on Pliskova. After them, we will see Kontaveit play vs Sabalenka while Potapova will take on Bencic. Another interesting match will be between Garcia and Mertens. At the same time, Gauff will take on Martincova.

The afternoon part of the day will feature two proper bangers with the first one being Swiatek vs Muguruza. The Spaniard is coming off a strong outing in Doha but Swiatek will a very challenging match for her. The 2nd match of the afternoon schedule will feature Teichman who moved past Kvitova after the Czech player retired. She will take on Jabeur who has been playing great in Dubai so far.

09:00 Kuznetsova S. (Rus) - Krejcikova B. (Cze)
09:00 Pegula J. (Usa) - Pliskova Ka. (Cze)
10:30 Kontaveit A. (Est) - Sabalenka A. (Blr)
10:30 Potapova A. (Rus) - Bencic B. (Sui)
12:00 Garcia C. (Fra) - Mertens E. (Bel)
12:00 Gauff C. (Usa) - Martincova T. (Cze)
16:00 Swiatek I. (Pol) - Muguruza G. (Esp)
17:30 Teichmann J. B. (Sui) - Jabeur O. (Tun)

Tuesday, March 9th:

The WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships continue on Tuesday with 15 matches on the schedule start at 09:00. An abundance of tennis will be played on Tuesday headlined by several great players such as Bencic, Gauff, Muguruza, Sabalenka and many more. As yesterday it started at 09:00 CET with Bencic taking on Kudermetova in a very trick matchup for the Swiss player. Coco Gauff will also play at that time against Vondrousova. After those matches, we will get to see Sabalenka take on Cornet. Another fascinating matchup will be between Svitolina and Kuznetsova that will take place a little later.

The later part of the day will feature Adelaide champion Iga Swiatek who will play against Misaki Doi. The Polish player is in top form and she will look to continue that. Muguruza will also step out to play against Anisimova. The Spaniard has played a lot of tennis lately and fatigue might prove an issue for her if the match goes the distance. 2021 WTA Qatar Open champion Petra Kvitova is also playing against Jill Belen Teichman. The final match of the day will be between former finalist Rybakina and Jabeur.

09:00 Kudermetova V. (Rus) - Bencic B. (Sui)
09:00 Keys M. (Usa) - Potapova A. (Rus)
09:00 Sevastova A. (Lat) - Pliskova Ka. (Cze)
09:00 Vondrousova M. (Cze) - Gauff C. (Usa)
10:15 Martincova T. (Cze) - Bertens K. (Ned)
10:15 Cornet A. (Fra) - Sabalenka A. (Blr)
10:15 Kontaveit A. (Est) - Cirstea S. (Rou)
10:15 Mladenovic K. (Fra) - Pegula J. (Usa)
11:30 Ostapenko J. (Lat) - Krejcikova B. (Cze)
11:30 Svitolina E. (Ukr) - Kuznetsova S. (Rus)
11:30 Trevisan M. (Ita) - Garcia C. (Fra)
12:45 Swiatek I. (Pol) - Doi M. (Jpn)
14:00 Anisimova A. (Usa) - Muguruza G. (Esp)
16:00 Kvitova P. (Cze) - Teichmann J. B. (Sui)
17:15 Jabeur O. (Tun) - Rybakina E. (Kaz)

Monday, March 8th:

The action continues on Monday with 17 matches on the schedule including Muguruza, Kerber, and Mertens. The action will start at 12:00 CET with 4 matches starting simultaneously where the one between Rybakina and Zheng looks most interesting. After those matches complete we will see four more matches including Pegula versus Shvedova. Later in the afternoon, we will see Kerber taking on Garcia in a very strong 1st round matchup.

The German struggled of late and Garcia is more than capable of beating her in these conditions. In the afternoon hours, we will see several great matchups where the one between Ferro and Mertens looks especially exciting. Both are in form and usually very consistent so this match could go the distance. Muguruza will also play in the afternoon taking on Begu in order to move past the disappointing Doha final.

09:00 Keys M. (Usa) - Liang E. S. (Tpe)
09:00 Siegemund L. (Ger) - Potapova A. (Rus)
09:00 Vondrousova M. (Cze) - Bogdan A. (Rou)
09:00 Zheng S. (Chn) - Rybakina E. (Kaz)
10:30 Cirstea S. (Rou) - Tsurenko L. (Ukr)
10:30 Doi M. (Jpn) - Hercog P. (Slo)
10:30 Kontaveit A. (Est) - Babos T. (Hun)
10:30 Shvedova Y. (Kaz) - Pegula J. (Usa)
12:00 Kerber A. (Ger) - Garcia C. (Fra)
12:00 Martic P. (Cro) - Mladenovic K. (Fra)
12:00 Martincova T. (Cze) - Pliskova Kr. (Cze)
13:30 Tig P. M. (Rou) - Ostapenko J. (Lat)
13:30 Zavatska K. (Ukr) - Teichmann J. B. (Sui)
15:00 Anisimova A. (Usa) - Konjuh A. (Cro)
15:00 Rogers S. (Usa) - Kanepi K. (Est)
16:00 Begu I. (Rou) - Muguruza G. (Esp)
17:30 Ferro F. (Fra) - Mertens E. (Bel)