Miami: Day 6 Roundup
All the action from Day 6 of the Miami Open.
An interview with Venus Williams before her first round match at the China Open.
Karolina Pliskova reflects on her performance at the Miami Open.
An interview with Peng Shuai after her win in the second round of the China Open.
Highlights from the quarterfinal clash between Karolina Pliskova and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
Road to Singapore leaderboard, Sunday Recap
RTS No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska and No.8 Madison Keys stay on course; RTS No.9 Carla Suárez Navarro crashes out; RTS No.11 Johanna Konta eases into second round
RTS No.6 Andrea Hlavackova / Lucie Hradecka lose tight opener; RTS No.8 Goerges/Pliskovaadvance comfortably
RTS No.13 Andreja Klepac / Katarina Srebotnik keep Singapore dreams alive by eliminating and ending the hopes of RTS No.9 Raquel Atawo / Abigail Spears
Click here for the complete China Open draws.
Monday Preview
If Keys loses to Kristina Mladenovic (4th match, Lotus, NB 6.30pm) then Karolina Pliskova and Agnieszka Radwanska will qualify for BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, regardless of their own results on Monday.

UPDATED LEADERBOARD
SINGLES:
Qualified: Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep
Next In Line (Current Top 8):
How can they qualify in Beijing ?
(note: Scenarios will change if those currently in the Top 8 advance)
Pliskova – qualifies by reaching QF OR
· Keys fails to reach 3r (QF if Pliskova advances to 2r) OR
· Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final*
*both are in the same half so only one of these is possible
Radwanska – qualifies by reaching QF OR
· Keys fails to reach QF OR
· Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final *
*both are in the same half so only one of these is possible

Muguruza – qualifies by reaching final
Cibulkova – qualifies by winning title
Keys – qualifies by winning title
It is mathematically possible for Kuznetsova to qualify this week by winning the Beijing title BUT this would depend on a 2r defeat for Cibulkova.
It is no longer mathematically possible for Konta to qualify this week, even if she won the title.
Currently No.9 to No.13 with points behind current projected cut-off (3137)
It is interesting to note that four of the players that are battling for qualification – Muguruza, Keys, Kuznetsova and Kvitova are all in the same quarter of the Beijing draw, creating some potentially exciting matchups in the R16 at the China Open, a stage where Pliskova and Konta could also meet
DOUBLES
QUALIFIED: Garcia/Mladenovic, Hingis/Mirza, Makarova/Vesnina, Mattek-Sands/Safarova
NEXT IN LINE:
|
Shvedova/Babos |
3975 |
1r v Savchuk/Wang (Mon) |
|
Hlavackova/Hradecka |
3775 |
Lost 1r (Arruabarrena/Kalashnikova) |
|
Chan/Chan |
3760 |
1r bye, 2r-King/Niculescu or Xu/Zheng |
|
Goerges/Pliskova |
3390 |
1r d. Aoyama/Ninomiya , 2r vs Hingis/Vandeweghe or Irigoyen/Maria |
How do they qualify in Beijing:
Timea Babos / Yaroslava Shvedova qualify unless Sania Mirza / Barbora Strycova or Xu Yi-Fan / Zheng Saisai win the Beijing title OR by reaching the Beijing SF
Andrea Hlavcakova / Lucie Hradecka qualify unless Mirza/Strycova reach Beijing final or Xu/Zheng win the Beijing title

Chan Hao-Ching / Chan Yung-Jan qualify unless Mirza/Strycova or Xu/Zheng reach Beijing final OR by reaching the Beijing Final
Julia Goerges / Karolina Pliskova qualify by advancing to the same round or better than Mirza/Strycova and Xu/Zheng and if Klepac/Srebotnik don’t win Beijing title**
Remaining Teams in Possible Contention (points behind current cut-off)
|
|
|
|
|||
|
Xu/Zheng |
-720 |
Must reach at least QFs to stay in contention**
1r vs King/Nicuescu (Mon) |
|||
|
Mirza/Strycova |
-1005 |
Must reach at least QFs to stay in contention**
(same quarter as Goerges/Pliskova)
1r – bye; 2r vs Dabrowski/Martinez Sanchez |
|||
|
Klepac/Srebotnik |
-1230 |
8th at best, must win Beijing to stay in contention and Goerges/Pliskova do not reach SF
1r d Atawo/Spears, 2r vs Arruabarrena/Kalashnikova |
|||
**this will change and require a better result if Goerges/Pliskova advance.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Check out Caroline Wozniacki’s shot of the day against Lucie Safarova at the Miami Open.
BEIJING, China – The WTA’s biggest names were out in full force to celebrate the final Premier Mandatory event of the year at the China Open, but this was no average player party.
Angelique Kerber, Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova and Caroline Wozniacki were among the names to hit the Beijing National Stadium – the iconic “Bird’s Nest Stadium” that played host to the 2008 Olympics’ Opening Ceremony – and took part in the China Open gala celebration.
The gala also served as the kickoff to the Song Qingling Foundation, which works to promote the development of tennis among Chinese children and teenagers.
Click below to check out the best photos of the night, courtesy of Visual China Group!

MIAMI, FL, USA – Johanna Konta became the first British woman to reach the Miami Open semifinals after coming back from a set down to oust No.3 seed Simona Halep.
Putting an injury-plagued start of the season behind her, Halep came into the matchup after winning consecutive matches for the first time all season here in Miami. And in the quarterfinals, the Romanian even saved match point in her late-night thriller against Sam Stosur.
But she couldn’t pull off the escape once again against Konta, falling 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 after a rollercoaster two hours and thirty minutes.
.@JoKonta wins a mammoth tiebreak 9-7!
Into a decider… #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/TWpn1gbFnG
— WTA (@WTA) March 29, 2017
The Brit had to overcome a slow start against Halep, though, as the Romanian came out of the gates firing and would take an early break in the opening set. Loose unforced errors during the initial exchanges cost Konta, and Halep didn’t allow her to settle into a rhythm with her changes of pace.
Dropping the first set only galvanized Konta, as the Brit notched an emphatic break to love and a 3-0 lead. But that’s when things got complicated, and Halep dodged a pair of break points and leveled the match a few games later.
She served for the match at 5-4, and was two points away from victory when Konta denied her, keeping her serve under pressure and rewarded with loose errors.
Into a tiebreaker, Halep once again saw her lead erased as Konta came roaring back from 5-3 down and edged through 9-7.
.@JoKonta91 advances to @MiamiOpen Semifinals!
Battles past Halep 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2! pic.twitter.com/nm3n99u6s8
— WTA (@WTA) March 29, 2017
With the wind in her sails Konta grabbed the lead once again but this time didn’t allow Halep back in. She broke Halep twice to reel off the final five games and complete the comeback.
“It was a really tough match, very high level,” Halep told WTA Insider after the match. “I was so close to winning, I was two points away in the tiebreak, but she played very strong and deserved to win today.
“I’m happy to be here after the break that I had. I’m just disappointed I lost a match I had in my hands. But my confidence is there, the game is there – I just need to play matches.”
Konta be rewarded with a clash against the winner between World No.1 Angelique Kerber and Venus Williams for a chance to go even further and win a spot into her second career Premier Mandatory final.
Should she reach the final, she’s projected to return to the Top 10 after the WTA rankings are released on Monday.
“Whoever I’m playing, I’ll have a battle on my hands that’s for sure,” Konta said. “I’ve played Venus and Angie a few times. They’re going to have a tough battle tonight, and I’m looking forward to playing either of them. Either of them will be a great opportunity for different reasons.”
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the third round of the Miami Open.