Australian Open: Garbine Muguruza and Karoline Pliskova reach last 16
The 18th seed Garbine Muguruza has reached the fourth round in Melbourne for the fourth time, beating Timea Bacsinszky 7-6, 6-2 in just under two hours. Both players had their chances on the return, with five breaks for the Spaniard and three for the Swiss who stayed in touch in the opening set that lasted for 70 minutes. They had almost 80 unforced errors combined and it was Garbine who hit twice as many winners as her opponent, taking charge after that grueling opening set to sail through the second. They traded breaks at the start of the match before Timea grabbed another one in game five to move 4-2 up.
Garbine pulled it back in game eight, creating a set point at 6-5 that Bacsindzky saved to set up a tie break and extend already very long set. In the breaker, Muguruza prevailed 7-5 with a service winner and she took charge from 1-2 in set number two, rattling off five straight games to seal the deal and avoid spending more time on the court. The 7th seed Karolina Pliskova had to work hard to secure the place in the last 16 for the third straight year, ousting the 27th seed Camila Giorgi 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in two hours and 11 minutes.
Serving at 74%, Karolina fired nine aces although Giorgi found the way to tame the rival's initial shot, converting all three break points she earned to stay competitive for almost the entire match. On the other hand, Pliskova was more effective behind the second serve return, gaining no less than 16 break chances and converting five to move into the next round. Karolina lost just five points on serve in the opening set and she grabbed the opportunity to steal Giorgi's serve in game five before holding at 15 at 5-4 to secure the opener.
Camila bounced back at the start of the second set, breaking the rival thrice and saving a break point at 5-3 to take the set and send the match into a decider after 20 winners she blasted in this set alone (she had 43 in the end but also 53 unforced errors). Pliskova managed to leave this set behind her and find her 'A game' in the third set, dropping four points on serve and breaking Giorgi in games four and eight to book the place in the fourth round.
Third round results:
[18]Garbine Muguruza (ESP) vs Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) 7-6(5) 6-2 [7]Karolina Pliskova (CZE) vs [27]Camila Giorgi (ITA) 6-4 3-6 6-2
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2sAaNWk
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