Muguruza, Puig progress in Monterrey

Published by Matt Trollope

Garbine Muguruza dropped just two games in a 47-minute thrashing of Renata Zarazua to reach the second round of the WTA tournament in Monterrey, Mexico; Getty Images
Garbine Muguruza requires just 47 minutes to dismiss Mexican wildcard Renata Zarazua in Monterrey, where she joins Monica Puig in the second round.

Garbine Muguruza wasted no time in storming her way into the second round of the WTA Monterrey tournament in Mexico on Tuesday.

The reigning Wimbledon champion demolished Mexican wildcard Renata Zarazua 6-1 6-1 in a brisk 47 minutes to set up a second-round match with American Alison Riske.

“I’m very happy because this is my third time in Monterrey, and in the previous years I didn’t play very well so finally now I could win a match,” said the Spaniard, who lost her opening matches in 2012 and 2014.

“It was different playing a local girl, a young star, but I’m excited to play new people. I just concentrate and try to do my job the best I can.”

Muguruza joined Monica Puig, who earlier in the day beat Nicole Gibbs 6-3 6-3, in the last 16.

> RELATED: Errani sees off struggling Puig in Charleston

Puig carried momentum into this event from the Miami Open, where she advanced to the fourth round.

World No.3 Muguruza, the top seed in Monterrey, heads a sparse field featuring just six players ranked inside the top 80.

Puig, the No.5 seed, is ranked 68th but did win Olympic gold in 2016 and has been ranked as high as No.27.

Another player to win through to the second round on Tuesday was the in-form Danielle Collins; the unseeded American vaulted from No.93 to No.53 in this week’s rankings after reaching the semifinals in Miami.

Collins, who also reached the fourth round at Indian Wells, beat Mariana Duque-Marino 6-1 6-3 and will next play third seed Lesia Tsurenko, who’s currently riding an 11-match winning streak in Mexico after winning the past two WTA titles in Acapulco.

Zarazua, ranked 228th, stunned Kristyna Pliskova and pushed Daria Gavrilova hard in her last WTA-level outing in Acapulco in February.

But the 20-year-old was no match for Muguruza, who slammed four aces and won more than 80 per cent of her first-serve points to notch her ninth singles win of the season.

Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam champion, is aiming to win her first WTA title since Cincinnati in August 2017.

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