The match between Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza was the third rubber of the Fed Cup World Group tie, which kick-started the second day of play in Ostrava. With the tie being leveled at 1-1 after the exciting first day of action which saw Muguruza defeating Strycova in three sets and Pliskova suffering a huge scare against Arruabarrena, the pressure is now on both players as this win would definitely be crucial for either team. Nevertheless, the pressure is definitely much heavier for Garbine Muguruza, who is the underdog in this tie, as a win would see Spain have higher chances of creating a huge upset. However, this tie did not live up to the hype it received as Pliskova extended her head to head record with Muguruza to 5-1 as the Czech strolled to a straight sets victory in a match that lasted exactly one hour.
Muguruza fails to play her best tennis
It was straight to business from the first point onwards as both players seem to be playing their best offensive style of tennis in the early stages of the match as a break of service seemed distant from us. However, Pliskova soon made the first breakthrough in the fourth game as Muguruza looked very wobbly in her offensive baseline game, handing out unforced errors as she lost her serve to allow Pliskova to take a 3-1 lead.
Having a chance to make an immediate reply thanks to some inconsistent play by Pliskova which saw the Spaniard earning a break point, Pliskova eventually held her serve to keep her lead as she saved the sole break point with a powerful serve which was unreturnable. Finding herself 2-5 down and serving to stay in the set, Muguruza, having no momentum and confidence now, gifted the set to Pliskova after just 29 minutes despite managing to come from 0-40 down to get to deuce in that last game.
Disappointing performance from the Spaniard
Muguruza had the best possible start to the second set as she earned two break point chances immediately in the opening game, threatening to break serve and open up an early advantage. Nevertheless, known for her explosive game, Pliskova saved both break points with some excellent offensive play to hold onto her service game and prevent herself from falling behind early in the set. It was the Czech who had two break point opportunities in the next game, but the scores remained level as Muguruza showed nerves of steel to go against the local crowd to hold her service game and remain on serve.
Similar to the first set, it was the higher-ranked player who made the first breakthrough in the second set at 2-1 to have a lead of a set and a break, looking to be the favourite to close out the match. With the momentum with Pliskova, she broke serve once more to have a double break lead and have the chance to serve out the match at 5-1. Just at the last moment, Muguruza got one of the breaks back to stay in the match for at least one more game as Pliskova had a wobbly service game. Nevertheless, it proved to be just a consolation game after Pliskova broke serve for the third straight time to triumph in straight sets, allowing the Czech Republic to lead 2-1 overall.