Merida Aguilar defeated Damir Džumhur 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in Umag, capitalising on aggressive returning to break serve six times across the match. Despite a rocky second set and seven double faults overall, she dominated on first-serve points (62% win rate) and won 51% of returns on Džumhur's first delivery.
The opener was straightforward: Merida broke in the first game and again at 4-1, cruising 6-2. The second set turned into a break-fest — five breaks in total. Merida led 5-4 serving for the match, but Džumhur broke back, held, then broke again to take it 7-5. In the decider, Merida broke immediately at 1-0, was pegged back to 1-1, but then rattled off two more breaks at 3-2 and 5-2 to close the match.
Merida's return game proved decisive: she converted 6 of 11 break points (55%), while Džumhur saved just 5 of 11. The winner also won 62% of first-serve points despite a modest 67% first-serve percentage, a stark contrast to Džumhur's 49% first-serve points won.