Muguruza has dominated this head-to-head match-up in the past, but we like the Kazakhstani to keep things a bit closer this time around.

The world No. 17 held off her eighth-seeded opponent, 6-3, 7-6 (8), in the quarterfinals of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic on Friday.

Elsewhere Saturday, Casper Ruud defeated Roberto Carballes Baena in Bastad and is a win away from triumphing for the second time in 2021.

The top seed avenged a Belgrade defeat to the Croat to advance in straight sets and later discussed her impending Olympic debut.

The two-time Wimbledon champion bowed out in her home tournament's hard-court staging to to Rebecca Sramkova, while Putintseva eased through on clay.

A few of the top WTA stars recouped at home before taking off for the grass-court major later this month.

The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds each found their backs up against the wall Sunday, as Sofia Kenin saved a match point against Yulia Putintseva before Elina Svitolina erased two of her own versus Ekaterina Alexandrova.