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World No. 37 Anhelina Kalinina admitted she was surprised by the score with which she defeated No. 7 seed Garbine Muguruza in Madrid. Kalinina, 25, delivered one of the best performances of her career as she destroyed former world No.
1 Muguruza 6-3 6-0 to clinch her first top-10 win and progress into the Madrid round-of-16. Kalinina got off to a good start, claiming the first break of the match in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. Muguruza had her chances in the first set but Kalinina saved four break points in the fifth game and two more break points in the ninth game to win the opener.
Muguruza never recovered from blowing two break points in the ninth game of the first set as Kalinina claimed three breaks in the second set to complete a straight-set win.
Kalinina on dominating Muguruza
"I didn't expect the score was going to be like this.
I was just very focused, even during the match I was not thinking about the score. In the first set I felt a little bit of pressure - it was very tough with a few balls, but when I closed the set I felt much more confident," Kalinina said after the match, as quoted on the WTA Tour website.
"I'm getting much more matches than in previous years, so I'm getting a lot more experience. The more you play with these top players, the more you feel you are at home. Last year I was playing mostly ITF tournaments so for me, it was important to get to the Top 100." Kalinina is playing in Madrid for the first time in her career.
Kalinina now gets a shot at another big name as she plays next 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu. Kalinina and Raducanu will be going head-to-head for the first time when they meet in the Madrid round-of-16. It remains to be seen if Kalinina can continue her strong run in Madrid and reach the quarterfinal.