Muguruza sets Barty showdown for Yarra Valley Classic title

Former World No.1 Garbiñe Muguruza's dominance at the Yarra Valley Classic continued on Saturday, as the Spaniard dispatched No.8 seed Marketa Vondrousova in just 54 minutes, 6-1, 6-0, to set up a final against current World No.1 Ashleigh Barty.

Muguruza's near-perfect display against the 2019 French Open finalist was the latest entry in her story of her week thus far: through eight sets in four matches, the Spaniard has surrendered just 10 games.

"I'm very happy for sure. I think I played well today," Muguruza said on-court after the match.

"My serve was working in the right moments and I felt like, since the beginning of the match, I could take control of the points."

Behind 19 winners and just 10 unforced errors, Muguruza recorded victory in under an hour for the third time in her victories this week.

Creating 11 break points over the course of the contest, the Spaniard broke serve five times, and Vondrousova tallied 22 unforced errors as she was routinely forced out of her comfort zone to try to match Muguruza's fierce groundstroke game. 

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Muguruza has faced Barty three times previously, with the Aussie holding a 2-1 edge.

All three matches have gone the distance, with Barty's 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-2 win in the quarterfinals of last February's Qatar Total Open marking her last tour-level victory prior to returning to competition this week. 

"It's always good to play the top players, especially the No.1 right now," Muguruza said. "We've had tough matches, so I'm expecting another battle."

The 2020 Australian Open finalist is bidding for her first WTA singles title since winning in Monterrey, Mexico in the spring of 2019, but her last title at WTA 500 level or high came four years ago at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.