One of the bright young talents on the professional tour Garbine Muguruza will continue her campaign in Dubai on Wednesday afternoon when she crosses paths with the former Serbian No. 1 Jelena Jankovic for the third time on the tour. Of their two previous encounters, Muguruza and Jankovic have split the series 1-1.

The Spaniard began her week in Dubai against qualifier Jarmila Gajdosova, who gave her a run for her money during the encounter. After dropping the opening set, Muguruza rallied back to earn the victory in three sets 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. She struck 9 aces, won 83% of her first service points and saved eight of nine break points to close out the match in 85 minutes.

World No. 21 Jelena Jankovic got a monkey off her back on Monday afternoon when she defeated Timea Babos to earn her first WTA victory of the season. It was a hard fought victory for the Serb, as she needed three sets to down her opponent. The contest lasted 2 hours and 7 minutes and ended 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Jankovic won 62% of her first service points and converted eight break points to earn the victory.

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“I love playing in Dubai. Playing Dubai is one of my favorite places to play at, and I have done very well here in the past, and, you know, I have my residence here. I come, you know, quite often during the year. I love it here. I love the weather. I love, you know, pretty much everything about it. You know, what can I say? Hopefully I can do well at this tournament.”

This mark the third time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with the series tied at 1-1. This will serve as the rubber match in the series, but it is clearly one that favours the Spaniard. Jankovic has not been her best this season, and only beat Muguruza on clay. This should be a quick straight sets encounter unless Jankovic summons some confidence from her win on Monday.

Prediction: Garbine Muguruza in Straight Sets