Tennis News

MIAMI, FL, USA – Top seed Serena Williams nearly saw her quest for a ninth Miami Open title end in her opening match against Christina McHale, who saved a match point to force a deciding set; Williams nonetheless prevailed with her 12th ace, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

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Looking to shake off a runner-up finish at the BNP Paribas Open by playing in one of her favorite tournaments, Williams looked well in control through most of the match, taking a set and a break lead, serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. But McHale – who has enjoyed a solid start to 2016, including a doubles title in Hobart and a singles win at an ITF Challenger in Maui – ended up saving a match point to break back and win four games in a row to level the match.

“She definitely started to fight harder, and is clearly capable of playing great tennis,” Serena told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “She showed it today.”

Despite not playing her best tennis, the 21-time Grand Slam champion still managed 33 winners on the day and two more breaks of serve to clinch her spot in the third round, where she will play Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas, who took out No.31 seed Daria Gavrilova earlier in the day.

Before the start of the tournament, Williams penned an op-ed in the New York Times about how much she loves the Miami Open, which may yet move from its present location in Crandon Park. The American reaffirmed her love of what she considers a second home in front of an adoring crowd.

“Miami is such a special place for me. I live so close to here; in fact I was just home yesterday,” she said with a laugh. 

“When I was younger, I used to watch so many people play here. I know a lot of the kids have that same experience. I grew up wandering the grounds like everyone here, and now I’m playing here and it’s always such a special moment.”

Williams’ good friend and former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki earned a much-needed win over a resurgent Vania King, 7-5, 6-2, setting up a third round encounter with No.12 seed Elina Svitolina. Svitolina recently added 2016 International Tennis Hall Of Fame Inductee Justine Henin to her coaching staff, and earned a solid win over Australian Open quarterfinalist Zhang Shuai, who beat Wozniacki last week in Indian Wells, 6-3, 6-0.

Abierto Monterrey Afirme champion and wildcard Heather Watson allowed just four points from American Sloane Stephens in their second round match, winning 11 straight games to improve their head-to-head to 5-2 with a 6-3, 6-0 victory. France’s Caroline Garcia survived a topsy-turvy afair against No.21 seed Andrea Petkovic, earning the upset, 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(2).

MIAMI, FL, USA – Garbiñe Muguruza produced a thrilling final set comeback to defeat Dominika Cibulkova in an absorbing second-round encounter at the Miami Open on Friday.

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Two crushing returns helped Muguruza claim the decisive break in the penultimate game before she calmly wrapped up a 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-5 victory.

“The match today was so tough but I’m so happy I’ve been through this against Dominika,” Muguruza said. “She played very well and I think it was a tricky second round because she’s really tough. But I’m very happy that I fight all the match – even though I lost the first set hard – and I was able to come back.”

Earlier this month in Indian Wells, Cibulkova came within a point of upsetting World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska. While she did not come quite so close to victory against Muguruza, she will be no less disappointed at her failure to get over the line once again.

After splitting two high-quality sets, Cibulkova looked to be heading for the third round when she surged 3-0 ahead in the decider. However, she was unable to hold onto the momentum, sending a backhand long to surrender her serve in the fifth game.

Considering her struggle for form this year, Muguruza showed tremendous poise with the match in the balance. Trailing 5-4, the Spaniard refused to wilt, a couple of pin-point serves fending off the danger. The same could not be said for Cibulkova in the next game, Muguruza jumping on a couple of short second serves to strike decisively.

Muguruza faces wildcard Nicole Gibbs in the third round. Gibbs reached the fourth round in Indian Wells and continued her superb spring by beating No.27 seed Kristina Mladenovic, 6-2, 6-4, earlier on Friday.

“I don’t know her that well. But she’s here because she’s playing great and feeling at home because she’s from the US. I’ll just do my stuff, prepare and fight until the last point,” Muguruza added.

MIAMI, FL, USA – Ekaterina Makarova dug deep to topple fellow lefty Petra Kvitova and grab the first spot in the fourth round at the Miami Open in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

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In tennis, as in many sports, left handers typically have a unique advantage over the right-handed population – but what about if the opponent is another lefty, and a two-time Wimbledon champion at that?

“Of course it’s always tough to play against a lefty… we’re not used to it!” Makarova said. “Petra’s such a great player, it was really tough to play against her. I’m just really happy I came through.”

The No.31-ranked Russian found herself in trouble early on, quickly going down 1-4 against Kvitova’s strong groundstrokes and tricky lefty serve. But Makarova put her problem solving skills to the test and adjusted her game, jamming Kvitova with body serves to cut off her deadly angles.

The tactic worked and Makarova rattled off five straight games to come back and win the opening set, Kvitova’s frustration mounting along with her unforced error count. Kvitova hit 26 winners to 24 unforced errors in the match in contrast to Makarova’s tidy 9 to 9.

She's on the move!@KateMakarova1 wins five straight and takes the opening set vs Kvitova 6-4! #WTA https://t.co/MxrYSvcWaM

— WTA (@WTA) March 26, 2016

With the pressure coming steadily from the other side of the net, Kvitova’s woes continued into the second set. Makarova grabbed a crucial break at 3-2, and kept her lead to take the match in an hour and a half.

“Today was actually really tough to play, especially against Petra and in these conditions,” Makarova commented in her post-match interview, referring to Miami’s heat and humidity.

“She started unbelievable – a lot of winners. I just kept going and going, wanting to hit longer points and just being on the court and enjoying it.”

Makarova now meets Elina Svitolina, the winner of a titanic struggle against Caroline Wozniacki in Saturday’s evening session.

In a match lasting 20 minutes shy of three hours, the result was in the balance until the very end. Wozniacki came within two points of victory, only to see Svitolina produce a final flourish to prevail, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1). 

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.5 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka stayed cool in the hot and heavy conditions of the Miami Open, needing only 66 minutes to dish out ice cold revenge on Qatar Total Open finalists Sara Errani and Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-4, 6-3.

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The 2012 Olympic Silver medalists and two-time Grand Slam champions had a bright start to 2016 with a run to the finals of the Australian Open and a semifinal finish in St. Petersburg, but fell to Errani in each of their last two events – first with Suárez Navarro and again last week with Oksana Kalashnikova.

“We lost to these girls in Doha, and lost to Errani last week in Indian Wells, so we were very motivated ot get this first win this year against her,” Hlavackova said after the match. “We played very well. They are a very solid and very good team and also played very well today, so it was a good match an we’re very happy to be through.”

Through difficult conditions, Hlavackova and Hradecka not only had to deal with extreme heat, but also a strong breeze that kept things interesting throughout.

“It was so humid, and a bit windy,” Hradecka said.

“Very windy,” Hlavackova added.

“I think we handled the conditions very well,” Hradecka continued. “We played aggressively. With the wind, we played unbelievably well. but even against the wind, we still had the power.”

Up next for the “Silent Hs,” who reunited at the end of 2014 and saw their first full season back together rewarded with a run to the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last fall, are two formidble teams in the recently reunited No.3 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova and Russians Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina, who ended Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s 41-match winning streak in Doha. 

“We’re definitely looking forward to playing one of these teams,” Hlavackova said. “We’re going to watch tomorrow; it’s actually good they play tomorrow so we can

We stick together as a team. We fight for every point. We’re pretty aggressive and have good communication. So far, it’s been working for us.

It’s easy to talk about things on and off the court and we mesh well on the court; I think we combine well together really well. Alla has good strength and I’m trying to be crafty and move around at the net. I think we pair well together and anything we feel like we need to work on, it’s easy for us to talk to each other about it and go out and do it.

It’s hot and humid, but we’re Miami; that’s nothing we didn’t expect. Drink a lot of water, hydrate, put on a lot of sunblock, which I didn’t do today, so I will pay for it tomorrow!

 scout a little, because we haven’t seen Kasatkina play. We’re very much looking forward because we feel very well here on the court, since we have two wins!”

Game, set and match.
Alla and Vania are moving on here in Miami. ?@AllaK11 @queen_v21 pic.twitter.com/Ms78ftm7oQ

— Christopher Levy (@tennis_shots) March 27, 2016

Earlier in the day, Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva – the only other team to defeat Hingis and Mirza since last summer last week at the BNP Paribas Open – reached their third straight quarterfinal in their third outing as a team with a 6-0, 7-6(1) win over Anastasia Rodionova and Galina Voskoboeva, who is only playing her second WTA tournament since a pair of foot injuries sidelined her two years ago.

“We stick together as a team,” Kudryavtseva said after the match. “We fight for every point. We’re pretty aggressive and have good communication. So far, it’s been working for us.”

“It’s easy to talk about things on and off the court and we mesh well on the court,” King added. “I think we combine well together really well. Alla has good strength and I’m trying to be crafty and move around at the net. I think we pair well together and anything we feel like we need to work on, it’s easy for us to talk to each other about it and go out and do it.”

First out on Court 7, the Australian Open quarterfinalists followed up on their dismissal of nemeses Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova – who ended each of their runs in Melbourne and Indian Wells – with a 75-minute win that came as a welcome relief from the already-tough conditions.

“It’s hot and humid, but we’re Miami; that’s nothing we didn’t expect,” Kudryavtseva said. “Drink a lot of water, hydrate, put on a lot of sunblock, which I didn’t do today, so I will pay for it tomorrow!”

Up next for King and Kudryavtseva could be a rematch of their Indian Wells encounter with Hingis and Mirza, who have only won two matches since seeing their streak end in Doha.

No.8 seeds Xu Yi-Fan and Zheng Saisai also reached the quarterfinals on Sunday, with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-4 win over Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja, while Ekaterina Makarova and Barbora Strycova recovered from a set down to defeat former No.1s Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai, 5-7, 6-2, 10-6.

Happy campers !! ??@queen_v21 @AllaK11 pic.twitter.com/hZXzu1toLL

— Christopher Levy (@tennis_shots) March 27, 2016

It’s round of 16 time at the Miami Open. The matchups are set and the stakes are high. Who will get through? We preview the sweet sixteen here.

Monday, Round of 16

Top Half

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. [15] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS # 19)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 8-2
Key Stat: The pair have gone the distance in half of their meetings to date.
Fancy an old-school throwdown between former Miami Open champions on manic Monday? Tennis fans will be treated to a battle between two of the more accomplished and entertaining champions in the tournament’s history as Serena Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova square off for the eleventh time. It’s a matchup that has been controlled by Williams but Kuznetsova has had her moments in the rivalry, too. The pair met at the round of 16 here last year, with Williams rolling to a 6-2, 6-3 victory en route to her record eighth career title at Key Biscayne. Will Williams maintain her domination of her elite foe, or will the 2006 Miami Champion produce more magic at Crandon Park?

Pick: Williams in three

[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #2) vs. [19] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #20)
Head-to-head: Bacsinszky leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Radwanska has been to the quarterfinals or better five times in Miami.
Agnieszka Radwanska has been red-hot all season, and the World No.2 leads the WTA in wins with 19. Timea Bacsinszky has a spring in her step after an invigorating performance against Ana Ivanovic in the third round in Miami. There couldn’t be a better time for these two special talents to meet. It won’t be the first time. Bacsinszky claimed an important 6-1, 6-1 victory over Radwanska in Fed Cup last April, and the Swiss will likely take confidence in that fact into Monday’s tilt. “I think I just played a really solid match and I made her doubt on what she had to do,” Bacsinszky at the time of her triumph in Poland. That was then, but what about now, against arguably the hottest player in tennis?

Pick: Radwanska in three

[12] Elina Svitolina (UKR #16) vs. [30] Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #31)
Head-to-head: Makarova leads, 3-0
Key Stat: Makarova has reached the round of 16 at Miami four times, but never the quarterfinals.
Ekaterina Makarova displayed dazzling form in taking down Petra Kvitova in straight sets in the third round on Saturday. It was the type of tennis that fans have come to know the Russian for: Strong, aggressive and confident. Could Makarova finally be rounding into top physical form after a slow start in 2016? She was in the Top-10 for six months last year but struggled and eventually pulled the plug on her season due to a lower leg injury right after the U.S. Open. Now at 31 in the world, Makarova will bid for her first Miami quarterfinal against steely Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. The 21-year-old lost all three battles with Makarova in 2015, and has never taken a set from the Russian. Could Monday be the day?

Pick: Makarova in two

[5] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. Heather Watson (GBR #69)
Head-to-head: Halep leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Halep needs to reach the quarterfinals to remain in the Top 5 of next week’s WTA rankings.
Simona Halep has eight wins in 2016 and six of them have come at Indian Wells and Miami. That tells us two things: One, Halep has had a difficult start to the season and, two, the Romanian is catching fire in the U.S. With her health concerns from the winter finally behind her Halep has looked like an energized player in the last few weeks. On Monday she will look to reach back-to-back Miami quarterfinals when she faces Heather Watson for the third time. Halep has won the pair’s two previous meetings but the 23-year-old Brit is playing with confidence, having won the Monterrey title in February and reached the round of 16 her for the first time.

Pick: Halep in three

Bottom Half

[2] Angelique Kerber (GER #3) vs. Timea Babos (HUN #49)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads 3-0
Key Stat: Kerber is attempting to match her career-best Miami performance by reaching the quarterfinals (2014).
Now that Angelique Kerber has won back-to-back matches for the first time since winning the Australian Open title, can we assume that Kerber is ready to start battling for big titles again? If so, she’ll have to get by a blossoming Timea Babos on Monday. The Hungarian reached the round of 16 at Miami for the first time with a 7-5, 6-0 takedown of Japan’s Naomi Osaka, and the longtime doubles star says she is thrilled to be making strides on the singles court. “Since November, I jumped around 40 spots, so it’s been a consistent improvement and I’m really happy,” Babos told WTATennis.com on Sunday. Babos owns a 1-8 lifetime record against the Top 10, and has dropped all three previous encounters with Kerber, but with a win over Karolina Pliskova under her belt at Miami, she’ll come out confident in her big-match abilities.

Pick: Kerber in two

[4] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4) vs. [13] Victoria Azarenka (BLR #8)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Azarenka is one of four former Miami champions in action on Monday.
The long-awaited maiden matchup of one of the game’s rising stars and one of its tried-and-true champions will take place tomorrow on Grandstand, as Victoria Azarenka and Garbiñe Muguruza will meet for the first time. Azarenka, fresh off the Indian Wells title, has won eight in a row and 18 of 19 in 2016, and hopes to become the first woman since Kim Clijsters to capture the Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double in 2005. Muguruza has struggled at times this season, but she played unencumbered tennis in cruising past Nicole Gibbs on Sunday night. The Spaniard will look to reach the quarterfinals for the first time against a two-time champion that appears motivated to prove that she’s an elite force to be reckoned with once again. Carve out a few hours, pop your popcorn and be prepared to be entertained!

Pick: Azarenka in three

[24] Johanna Konta (GBR #23) vs. [32] Monica Niculescu (ROU #33)
Head-to-head: Niculescu leads 1-0
Key Stat: Konta is the first British woman to reach the round of 16 in Miami since 1988 (Durie).
Johanna Konta notched her best career performance at a Premier Mandatory by making the round of 16 at Indian Wells two weeks ago. On Monday Great Britain’s No.1 will try to take it a step further when she meets Monica Niculescu for the first time. Konta, ranked No.151 in the world last year, has been on the rise ever since she road a 16-match winning streak into the second week of the US Open last summer. Now the 24-year-old is closing in on the Top 20. But standing in her way is the spin doctor Monica Niculescu. The Romanian will try to throw off Konta’s rhythm with a steady diet of slice and dice. Will her plan work, or will steady Konta keep on rising?

Pick: Konta in three

[22] Madison Keys (USA #24) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU #35)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Begu is one of three Romanians in the round of 16; Keys is one of two Americans.
With Mats Wilander sitting in her coaches’ box, Madison Keys put forth one of her most impressive efforts in recent memory in taking down No.9 seed Roberta Vinci in straight sets on Sunday. Keys’ first Top-10 win in over a year featured 41 winners and served to remind everybody watching why the 21-year-old American is so highly touted by peers and pundits alike. Can Keys back up that big win when she faces Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu on Monday? The 25-year-old Romanian entered Miami with an underwhelming 1-4 record and was down 5-0 in the third set against Sabine Lisicki in the first round, but recovered to earn a career-best result here in Miami.

Pick: Keys in two

-Chris Oddo, wtennis.com contributor

MIAMI, FL, USA – Timea Bacsinszky came back from a set down to oust World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska and earn her first ever quarterfinal berth at the Miami Open, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

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The Swiss No.2 hadn’t played in Miami since 2011, but her current campaign has been her most successful yet – her previous best result here was a round of 16 appearance in 2010.

Motivated by her win against Ana Ivanovic in the last round, Bacsinszky headed into her clash with Radwanska with the confidence of having already defeated the Polish player in their last encounter.

Bacsinszky had a hard time finding her footing once play began, though, quickly falling into a 4-1 hole. Radwanska pulled from her arsenal of trick shots and variety to take the opening set at 6-2, hitting just seven unforced errors to Bacsinszky’s 19.

Dropping the first set just served to galvanize the Swiss, who grabbed her first break of the match early in the second. With a lead finally in her pocket, Bacsinszky’s confidence boosted and she swung more freely, her game clicking together as her groundstrokes found bigger angles. Though she was broken serving for the set at 5-3, Bacsinszky stayed steady to take it at her next chance, 6-4.

Nice touch, @TimeaOfficial! ? https://t.co/TVE9tNyHJx

— WTA (@WTA) March 28, 2016

It was one-way traffic from there as Radwanska, who normally plays a clean and tidy game, found her errors piling up at the worst time and hitting 11 in the third set alone. Bacsinszky was exceptionally solid at the net, too, winning 14 of her 16 net points. In the end, an error from Radwanska sealed the match, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. The win is the biggest of Bacsinszky’s career and her first over a Top 3 player.

“Even when I wasn’t playing quite well in the first set, I told myself, it might be a long match,” Bacsinszky said of mounting her comeback. “So I always tried to get a little more balls in and make her work.

“But I started to calm down a little bit – in the first set I was kind of nervous.”

“I feel great, it's been a long journey.” -@TimeaOfficial #WTA https://t.co/4xQkJpyBop

— WTA (@WTA) March 28, 2016

Bacsinszky’s reward comes in the form of a quarterfinal clash with No.6 seed Simona Halep, who made quick work of Heather Watson to advance 6-3, 6-4.

MIAMI, FL, USA – Svetlana Kuznetsova emerged the victor after a late night, two-hour and forty-three minute battle against fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova for a spot in the Miami Open semifinals, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3.

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While on paper the indefatigable Kuznetsova came into the match with all the advantages – she leads the head-to-head 5-1, has won the Miami title before and last round she knocked out defending champion Serena Williams – she was facing a monumental task against Makarova.

Would her fitness hold up or would all the time spent on court take a toll?

All of Kuznetsova’s previous matches on her road to the quarterfinals had gone to three sets and lasted longer than two hours. Facing off against Makarova, her compatriot and Fed Cup teammate, Kuznetsova saw no reason to change the pattern while it’s working, though it did take some extra motivation to keep the 30-year-old going.

“I told myself just keep fighting and keep running,” Kuznetsova said afterwards. “I was feeling a little bit low on energy, so I was trying to keep myself going.”

Things looked more straightforward for the 30-year-old as she went up 5-2 in the first set against Makarova. But it started to slip away from her as the fatigue began to creep up leaving her unable to run down her compatriot’s shots. Makarova fought her way back to force a tiebreaker and win the first set.

“I lost a little bit of momentum in the first set when I had three set points and a 5-2 lead,” Kuznetsova reflected after the match. “Then Ekaterina got on top and she played really well.

“I was just trying to hang in there and trying to serve better. That’s it.”

What a point!!@SvetlanaK27 forces a decider over Makarova 6-7(3), 6-4! #WTA https://t.co/WHNyH1CwFa

— WTA (@WTA) March 30, 2016

Kuznetsova turned things around in the second set, coming up to the net more often and playing more aggressively to keep the rallies shorter. The change in tactic worked, and she took the second set 6-4. She had just enough in the tank to do it again in the final set, closing out the match after two hours and forty three minutes on court.

The Russians were very evenly matched during the whole encounter – Kuznetsova hit 66 percent of first serves in, Makarova hit 64 percent; Kuznetsova hit 32 winners, Makarova hit 35 – but their unforced errors count set them apart: Kuznetsova hit just 27 winners to Makarova’s 46.

The win sends Kuznetsova into the Miami Open semifinals for the first time since 2009 and sets up a clash against Timea Bacsinszky, but Kuznetsova can’t even think that far ahead to Thursday:

“I just want to sleep,” says @SvetlanaK27.

And with that, we’ll see you tomorrow @MiamiOpen.

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 30, 2016

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.3 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova are moving on in the Miami Open after booking their spot in the doubles semifinals with a win over the No.5 seeded team of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, 7-5, 6-3.

The Mattek-Sands and Safarova partnership had a very successful 2015, winning two WTA titles and two Grand Slams as well as qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. This year the pair took some time apart, though, as Safarova focused on her singles game and Mattek-Sands put together her bid for a spot on the US Olympic team with CoCo Vandeweghe.

They picked up right where they left off as they reunited for Miami, flying through all of their matches en route to the quarterfinals in straight sets. They faced more resistance in the form of the No.5 seeded Czech duo, longtime partners who earlier this year reached the final of the Australian Open.

Hlavackova and Hradecka – known to their fans as ‘The Silent Hs’ – broke Mattek-Sands and Safarova (‘Bucie’) early on to go up 4-2 in the first set. They had a chance to break again to extend their lead but the No.3 seeds halted their progress, winning three straight games to dig out of the hole and take back the lead at 5-4. The two teams stayed on pace until Mattek-Sands and Safarova struck again, breaking once more to take the first set.

Team Bucie was more clinical in the second set – they broke the Silent Hs twice right away to go up 5-1. They quelled any ideas of a late comeback from the Czechs to claim the match in just over an hour and fifteen minutes and advance to the Miami Open semifinals.

Teamwork makes the dream work.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova are on to semis! (? via @tennis_shots) pic.twitter.com/pwQqdXeVey

— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 30, 2016

Also into the semifinals are No.4 seeded Kazakh-Hungarian duo of Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova, who knocked out the Ukrainian pairing Kateryna Bondarenko and Olga Savchuk 6-2, 6-4.

Babos and Shvedova were dominant from the start, going up a double break and getting off to a 4-1 lead. Though Bondarenko and Savchuk broke back to narrow the gap, but the No.4 seeds broke a third time to take the first set 6-2. They broke the Ukrainian’s serve one last time in the second set and stayed steady to close out the match.