Elina Svitolina is off to a good start with new coaching consultant Justine Henin after defeating Garbine Muguruza to reach the quarterfinals of Dubai.

The 21-year-old trained with Henin during the off-season, and a week ago officially announced that the seven-time Grand Slam champion would be accompanying her to some tournaments this season.

The Dubai Premier event is their first tournament together.

"It's amazing to have her experience and her in my box and just being around," Svitolina said in a press conference following her first-round victory. "Of course there have been some small changes, but we are trying to do something new what can refresh my game."

Svitolina plans to keep Iain Hughes as her regular coach, and though she's Ukrainian she's based in Slovakia. The pair met while Svitolina was training at Henin's academy as a teenager.

She credits Hughes with building the game Henin is now looking to take to the next level.

"You know, what she doesn't have, my coach has—what my coach doesn't have, she has. So it's just a little bit of everything," the Ukrainian said. "My coach did a good job for the last two years bringing me into Top 20 and I'm really thankful for... because I'm really tough, I can say, on the practice court and off court."

"I have always been so competitive and everything needed to be perfect," the world No. 21 added.