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Can Garbine Muguruza defend her Monterrey Open title?

By Harry Floyd

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 22: Garbine Muguruza of Spain returns a shot to Monica Niculescu of Romania during Day 5 of the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Hard Rock Stadium on March 22, 2019 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 22: Garbine Muguruza of Spain returns a shot to Monica Niculescu of Romania during Day 5 of the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Hard Rock Stadium on March 22, 2019 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Tennis star Garbine Muguruza is in action this month at the 2019 Monterrey Open. Does she have it in her to defend her title?

So far so good for Garbine Muguruza at the 2019 Monterrey Open. The defending champion in women’s singles looks to continue advancing at the tournament this week. Winning her opening match, Muguruza sets up a match with Russian tennis player Margarita Gasparyan next. The second seeded Muguruza already has a win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

Last year at the Monterrey Open, Muguruza knocked out Timea Babos in the finals, winning 3–6, 6–4, 6–3. Babos sees herself going home early this year in Monterrey. She drops her opening match with Ivana Jorović in a tough three set loss.

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Now, all eyes are on Mugurza as she looks to defend her title. The top seed and arguably favorite is Angelique Kerber. The German, like Muguruza, is a former world number one on the WTA Tour. Both players are massive stars in the sport.

Earlier on the year, we picked five players in women’s singles as OUR SLEEPERS PICKS ON THE 2019 WTA TOUR. Muguruza was among them. It’s somewhat surprising to include a former world number one in such a list, but she has been quiet as of late. The Monterrey Open offers up an opportunity for Muguruza to reestablish herself in 2019.

The women’s singles field is packed with talent in Monterrey. Also winning early round matches are the likes of Kristina Mladenovic, Victoria Azarenka, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Kirsten Flipkens, and Nao Hibino among others. Action continues on Wednesday and Thursday for the round of 16. Muguruza’s next match with Gasparyan takes place on Thursday and we like her chances as of right now.

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Stay tuned to see if Muguruza can continue on at the 2019 Monterrey Open. With women’s singles seeing some surprising names win big in the early months, Muguruza and other WTA stars cannot discount any opponent. She should be considered a favorite in her next match at Monterrey but the path to a repeat title will not come easy.

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