Tennis News

MIAMI, FL, USA – Former World No.21 Sorana Cirstea produced a barrage of big hitting off the ground to defeat Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig, 6-2, 6-4, to emerge victorious in the first WTA night match of the Miami Open.

“Everyone knows I was out of the game with shoulder injuries,” Cirstea said during her on-court interview. “Now it’s a privilege and I’m very lucky to back here playing night sessions in Miami on the center court.”

First set goes to @Sorana_Cirstea!

Races through the opening set vs Puig 6-2! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/Rn7rpiwUAb

— WTA (@WTA) March 23, 2017

Indeed, the former French Open quarterfinalist struggled with shoulder injuries throughout the last few seasons, making a strong comeback last spring when she made the last eight at the Mutua Madrid Open. Starting the 2017 season with a run to the second week of the Australian Open, a wrist injury threatened to delay a further rise up the rankings, but Cirstea shrugged all of that off on Wednesday night, playing one of her best matches of the year against the Olympic champion.

Puig recently pushed World No.3 Karolina Pliskova to three sets at the BNP Paribas Open, but struggled to find her rhythm under the lights, striking 30 unforced errors during the 69 minute match.

Beautiful backhand winner from @MonicaAce93! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/FH8ZRgF3sW

— WTA (@WTA) March 23, 2017

Still, the Puerto Rican star is famous for her fighting instincts – particularly on big courts. On the brink of elimination, Puig broke Cirstea as she served for the match and pegged the Romanian back to within one break, forcing the 2013 Rogers Cup runner-up to serve it out one more time.

“I’m very happy to finish in two sets. I think I started strong; towards the end of the second set I kind of backed off.

“I’m happy with how I fought and the way I won the last game.”

Up next for Cirstea is No.22 seed and Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semifinalist Anastasija Sevastova, with former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki looming as a potential third round oppoonent.

.@Sorana_Cirstea advances to @MiamiOpen second round!

Beats Puig 6-2, 6-4! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/N9gpLhrJzE

— WTA (@WTA) March 23, 2017

The seeds on the lower half of the draw will begin their campaigns at the Miami Open on Thursday. We preview the must-see matchups right here at WTATennis.com.

Thursday, Second round

[2] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #3) vs. [Q] Madison Brengle (USA #86)
Head-to-head: Pliskova leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Pliskova leads the WTA with 167 aces in 20 matches this year.

In 2015, Karolina Pliskova proved that her game is a good match for the hardcourts of the Crandon Park Tennis Center in Miami when she powered to the quarterfinals for the first time. Last year, after a breakout performance at Indian Wells where she reached the semis, Pliskova arrived in Miami wearing some fatigue and was bounced in the opening round by Timea Babos. Pliskova is eager to prove that she’s up for the challenge of putting up good results in both legs of the Sunshine Double, having made a second straight semifinal in California.

“I did semis last year and then I lost in first round here,” she said on Tuesday. “So I just want to change this. I know I struggle after I do a good result in one tournament and then coming to a different tournament after. I think I’m in good shape this year, so hopefully I can change it in this tournament.”

Pliskova will face a tricky opponent in World No.86 Madison Brengle. The Delaware native reached the third round here last year and already has two qualifying matches under her belt in addition to her first-round win over Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday.

Pick: Pliskova in two

[6]Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #6) vs. Christina McHale (USA #46)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1
Key Stat: Muguruza reached the quarterfinals as a wildcard in Miami in 2012.

Miami will always hold a special place in Garbiñe Muguruza’s heart. As an 18-year-old she parlayed a Wild Card into her first tour-level victory at Miami, then rolled all the way to the round of 16. “This is such a great tournament for me because this was like my breakthrough,” Muguruza said at All-Access Hour. “I got a wildcard and I beat two Top 10s and went to fourth round, which was quite amazing. Plus I love the environment, I love the Latin American people, so I feel very at home here.”

Muguruza has been back to the round of 16 twice since that breakthrough, but this year she’ll look to take it a step or two further. That quest begins on Thursday with a battle against a tough competitor who has defeated her before. American Christina McHale knocked off Muguruza at Indian Wells last year and she improved to 5-0 in first-round matches at Miami with a three-set win over Germany’s Annika Beck on Wednesday.

Will McHale be able to recover from her three-hour battle with the German in time to challenge Muguruza? Or will the Spaniard get her revenge and begin another memorable run in Miami?

Pick: Muguruza in two

[23] Daria Gavrilova (AUS #26) vs. Lucie Safarova (CZE #36)
Head-to-head: Tied, 2-2
Key Stat: Safarova entered the week ninth on tour in first-serve points won (72 percent).

Australia’s Daria Gavrilova has her own Miami wildcard success story. Two years ago she burst on to the scene by upsetting then-World No.2 Maria Sharapova en route to a round of 16 appearance. “I have been dreaming about beating Maria since I was probably 12 when I saw her win Wimbledon, when she beat Serena,” an elated Gavrilova said at the time. That victory helped Gavrilova forge her identity on tour and also catapulted her higher in the rankings. She was barely inside the Top 100 at the time and now the Aussie resides inside the Top 30. But to go higher Gavrilova will have to win more consistently. She’s 6-6 this season but has only managed one win out of six contests against the Top 20.

On Thursday she’ll face a former Top 10 player who looks ready to make a big rise up the rankings herself in Lucie Safarova. The Czech battled injuries throughout 2016 but is healthy – and winning – again. After winning only 15 tour-level matches in 2016, Safarova has already claimed 13 victories in less than three months in 2017. Will she keep it rolling on Thursday or will Gavrilova use some more of that Miami magic to advance?

Pick: Safarova in three

[27] Yulia Putintseva (KAZ #32) vs. Carina Witthoeft (GER #71)
Head-to-head: Witthoeft leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Both previous encounters between Witthoeft and Putintseva have gone three sets.

Yulia Putintseva may outrank Germany’s Carina Witthoeft significantly but the German has swept both previous meetings with the Kazakh, defeating Putintseva twice last year in three sets. So, will the feisty Putintseva take her revenge on Thursday? It should be another tricky encounter. The 22-year-old Putintseva already has a final and two Top 10 wins to her name this season but she has only gone 3-3 against players ranked outside the Top 50 and has never won a main draw match at Miami. Witthoeft advanced to the second round for the second consecutive year with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Nicole Gibbs on Tuesday.

Pick: Putintseva in three

[4] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #4) vs. [Q] Veronica Cepede Royg (PAR #131)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Cibulkova is making her tenth career appearance at Miami.

Playing at a career-high ranking of No.4 in the world, Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova is excited to return to the tournament that she has always adored. Cibulkova made her first appearance here in 2007 and the rest is history. “From the first time I played here… it was my favorite tournament,” she told WTA Insider at all-access hour on Tuesday. “And it still is, because I have so many great memories here at this tournament.” The 2014 semifinalist owns a 14-9 lifetime record at Miami, but missed 2015 due to injury and was unseeded last year and ended up falling to Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round. With only 35 rankings points to defend she will open accounts against Paraguay’s Veronica Cepede Royg in a first-time meeting on Thursday. Cibulkova has reached the third round in seven of her nine Miami appearances while Cepede Royg made her Miami Open main draw debut on Wednesday, defeating Misaki Doi in straight sets.

Pick: Cibulkova in two

Around the Grounds:

No.5-seeded and 2012 Miami Open champion Agnieszka Radwanska will face China’s Wang Qiang for the fourth time. The Pole has won all three decisions in straight sets against Wang and Radwanska owns a 28-9 lifetime record at Miami.

By the Numbers:

5-1 – Safarova improved to 5-1 in tiebreak sets on Wednesday when she defeated Yanina Wickmayer, 7-6(2) 6-4.

5 – Muguruza is tied for second on tour with five three-set wins this season (Svitolina has six).

19 – Pliskova’s 19 wins are tied for second on tour this season, behind only Svitolina’s 20.

And then there were four. Who will be left standing in Paris for Saturday’s Roland Garros final? We preview today’s semifinal action right here on WTATennis.com.

Friday, Semifinals

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. Kiki Bertens (NED #58)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Bertens has won 12 matches in a row to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.

Serena Williams has won 10 matches in a row. Kiki Bertens has won 12 matches in a row. Something will have to give on Friday as the tour’s two hottest players collide with a spot in Saturday’s final on the line in Paris. Bertens prolonged her magical run on Thursday when she defeated Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets to become the first Dutchwoman to reach the Roland Garros semifinals since 1971. But the 24-year-old will have to steady herself for one of the toughest challenges in tennis when she takes the court against top-seeded Serena Williams on Friday. Williams, arguably the best big-match player of all-time, owns a 26-4 record in Grand Slam semifinals and has won 12 of her last 13. Bertens, who hits an extremely heavy ball, will have to go big or go home against Williams. After suffering an injury to her left calf during the win over Bacsinszky, she’ll likely take a more aggressive approach against Williams, hoping to get the World No.1 on the run early and often. “I have some problems with my calf,” she admitted on Thursday. “I’m just gonna prepare again for tomorrow, do everything what I can with the physios, and we will see how it is.” Williams was disappointed with her effort against Yulia Putintseva in Thursday’s quarterfinal, and was quick to admit that fact in press. “I just was not playing my best,” Williams said. “I kept missing, just misfiring. Honestly, at one point I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.” Williams scraped through the second set and then dominated the third in vintage fashion to advance. She knows she’ll need a more Williams-like effort to survive Bertens’ bullets on Friday. “Obviously she has a big serve and a big forehand,” Williams said. “She really moves the ball around well… I have to do something better and different if I’m going to stick around.”

Pick: Williams in two

[4] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4) vs. [21] Samantha Stosur (AUS #24)
Head-to-head: Stosur leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Stosur owns a 2-2 record in Grand Slam semifinals

2010 Roland Garros runner-up Samantha Stosur has found her groove in Paris in what will be her last event with her longtime coach David Taylor in her box. Can the 32-year-old Aussie prolong Taylor’s coaching career for one more day? To do so she’ll have to get past a scorching-hot Spaniard who is looking more and more impressive with each passing round. Garbiñe Muguruza has won her last ten sets on the terre battue and is wearing the calm, collected expression of a champion in the making. Already a Wimbledon finalist, the Spaniard is hungry to prove that she’s an all-surface maven this weekend. Muguruza overcame a slow start to defeat Shelby Rogers in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, but is well aware that another slow start could mean the death of her dream in Paris. “I need to dictate play from the very beginning of the match,” Muguruza said afterwards. “I know that my opponent started in full swing; I shouldn’t wait for my opponent to dictate play.” Stosur hasn’t been this deep at a major since she reached the semis at Roland Garros in 2012, but the 32-year-old has demonstrated remarkable poise throughout the fortnight, weathering difficult conditions, a tricky draw and an injured left wrist to reach the final four. Now she knows the margins are thin and the intensity will be high, but it’s a challenge she appears more ready to accept than ever. “I probably have more belief in some ways now than what I did then,” Stosur said, referring to her lone Grand Slam title in 2011, after defeating Tsvetana Pironkova in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. “You don’t know if you can do that. Now I know I have done that. I know I can do it.”

Pick: Muguruza in three

Around the Grounds: The French duo of Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia is the highest-seeded team remaining in the doubles draw. The fifth seeds will take on Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan and Svetlana Kuznetsova for a spot in the doubles final on Friday. The other doubles semifinal will be contested by seventh-seeded Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina and the unseeded Czech duo of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

By The Numbers

3 – Number of players to own more than three Roland Garros singles titles (Evert, 7, Graf, 6, Henin, 4).

26 – Williams has reached 26 major finals, compared to three for the other three semifinalists, combined.

27 – Bertens is projected to reach a career-high ranking of 27 as a result of her semifinal appearance in Paris. She could go as high as No.10 if she wins in the title.

1977 – The last time a Dutchwoman reached the semifinals of a major (Betty Stove, U.S. Open).

2 – Number of players born in the 1990’s remaining in the draw (Muguruza, Bertens). The only player born in the ’90s to have previously won a major is Petra Kvitova.

-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor

MIAMI, FL, USA – Bethanie Mattek-Sands’ straight sets victory over No.9 seed Elina Svitolina was special for a number of reasons: the American wildcard was celebrating her 32nd birthday in style, notching her first Top 10 win since 2015 in the 7-5, 6-4 upset.

But one of the three aces Mattek-Sands hit during the match nearly gave her even more reason to celebrate, and almost added her name to the WTA all-time records book.

The serve registered 131 mph (210.8 kmh), but was later deemed unofficial due to interference. Had it it been verified, it would have the all-time record for fastest WTA serve ever recorded.

“The serve was an ace and it took a little bit for the miles per hour to show up,” Mattek-Sands told wtatennis.com on Thursday. “I remember I just looked back and it went, ‘131’ and I stopped.

“I looked over at Justin [Sands] and my coach, and I said to them, ‘Does that say 131?’ And they were like, ‘Yeah, that’s 131!’

Still, Mattek-Sands pulled off an impressive serving performance, averaging between 110 and 115mph on her first serves.

Check out the current all-time list:

1. Sabine Lisicki – 131.0mph / 210.8kph (2014 Stanford)
2. Venus Williams – 129.0mph / 207.6kph (2007 US Open)
3. Serena Williams – 128.6mph / 207.0kph (2013 Australian Open)
4. Julia Goerges – 126.1mph / 203.0kph (2012 French Open)
5. Brenda Schultz-McCarthy – 126.0mph / 202.7kph (2007 Indian Wells)
6. Nadiia Kichenok – 125.5mph / 202.0kph (2014 Australian Open)
7T. Lucie Hradecka – 125.0mph / 201.2kph (2015 Wimbledon)
7T. Naomi Osaka – 125.0mph / 201.2kph (2016 US Open)
9. Anna-Lena Groenefeld – 125.0mph / 201.1kph (2009 Indian Wells)
10T. Ana Ivanovic – 124.9mph / 201.0kph (2007 French Open)
10T. Denisa Allertova – 124.9mph / 201.0kph (2015 Australian Open)

MIAMI, FL, USA – Mirjana Lucic-Baroni put together a near-perfect performance to upset the No.5 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round of the Miami Open.

She needed just over an hour to complete the comprehensive, 6-0, 6-3 victory and book a fourth-round battle with American wildcard Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

“It was a great match today, she’s obviously a top player and has been for many years,” Lucic-Baroni told WTA Insider after the match. “I know what I had to do when I walked into the court. It’s always a matter of executing the plan, and I was able to do that great today.

“Today, I did a flawless job, a really beautiful performance. I’m proud of myself.”

INCREDIBLE!

Lucic-Baroni wraps up the bagel on Radwanska in under 20 minutes! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/m5Ulcmhvfw

— WTA (@WTA) March 25, 2017

Radwanska came into the matchup with the Croat with a 2-1 lead in the pair’s overall head-to-head record, but she hadn’t won a set against her in almost a year. And in their most recent match, Lucic-Baroni sent Radwanska crashing out of the Australian Open in the second round on her way to a dream run to the semifinals.

Lucic-Baroni kept the trend going in Miami, taking less than 20 minutes to drop a bagel on Radwanska and snatch away the opening set. The Pole had little answers for Lucic-Baroni’s barrage of winners; Radwanska finished the match with five winners and just a single unforced error, but Lucic-Baroni fired 38 winners past her and made only five unforced errors.

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni does it! Again!

Knocks out 2012 champ Radwanska 6-0, 6-3! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/RPl0QQtZSo

— WTA (@WTA) March 25, 2017

In the second set, Lucic-Baroni came away with the edge after weathering seven breaks of serve. She notched two vital holds of serve, keeping the vulnerable Radwanska serve under pressure throughout the match, ensuring that the Pole didn’t hold serve once during the encounter.

“She was playing unbelievable tennis today,” Radwanska told WTA Insider. “She was very solid from the beginning, very aggressive, hitting everything with unbelievable speed. I couldn’t do much.

“The first set went so quickly, and in the second set I had chances, but I didn’t come back and unfortunately I missed the chance to stay in the match. She was just too good today.”