Elina Svitolina vs. Garbine Muguruza 2/17/20 - Dubai Tennis Championships Picks & Predictions

Last Updated: 02/15/2020 at 11:42 AM ET

Elina Svitolina vs. Garbine Muguruza 2/17/20 - Dubai Tennis Championships Picks & Predictions

In the opening round of the 2020 WTA Dubai Tennis Championships, Elina Svitolina is set to play against Garbine Muguruza from Spain. 

Garbine Muguruza has had an incredible start to 2020 as she made the final of the Australian Open. Muguruza was incredible throughout her campaign at Melbourne Park where she defeated elite players like Simona Halep and Kiki Bertens. Muguruza has impressed throughout 2020 as she made the semifinals of the Shenzhen Open and the quarterfinals of the Hobart International. This may be a challenging match for Garbine Muguruza but she will be confident in her ability considering her recent form. 

On the other side of the coin, Elina Svitolina returns to Dubai with hopes of producing a big performance at this tournament. Svitolina has an outstanding record at the Dubai Tennis Championships as she won the title in 2017 and 2018. It has been a modest start to 2020 for Elina Svitolina as she only made the third round of the Australian Open. Svitolina last played at the Thailand Open where she was eliminated during the quarterfinals. 

Elina Svitolina and Garbine Muguruza have played each other 11 times in the past. Svitolina has won on 6 occasions while Muguruza has won 5 times. Garbine Muguruza won the most recent match between these two players which took place a few weeks back at the Australian Open. It was a dominant victory for Garbine Muguruza as she won in straight sets. Muguruza only dropped 3 games in the entire match. 

This should be a close match considering both Svitolina and Muguruza are elite players. With that in mind, I am going to pick Garbine Muguruza to win this match. Svitolina has not been at her best in 2020 and I see her being haunted by her memories from the Australian Open. Garbine Muguruza will have the momentum and I see her being good enough to win this match. Considering the elite status of both players, I see this match lasting 3 sets.