As It Happened: Miami Open Sweet 16 Monday Match-Ups Featuring Kerber, Venus, Halep
WTA Insider | Keep up with the WTA’s very own Monday March Madness with an all-star slate of Round of 16 matches at the Miami Open on the WTA Insider Live Blog.
WTA Insider | Keep up with the WTA’s very own Monday March Madness with an all-star slate of Round of 16 matches at the Miami Open on the WTA Insider Live Blog.
Highlights from the match between Garbiñe Muguruza and Caroline Wozniacki.
MIAMI, FL, USA – World No.1 Angelique Kerber steamrolled past Japanese qualifier Risa Ozaki in barely an hour to move into the Miami Open quarterfinals for the third time in her career.
Kerber broke the Ozaki serve six times and hit 17 winners to Ozaki’s seven on her way to the 6-2, 6-2 victory.
“I think that she’s played a good tournament,” Kerber praised her opponent in post-match press. “She came through the qualies, she beat good players. I was ready for it.
“I talked with my team and I know that she’s moving good and bringing a lot of balls back. I was trying to play my game and be aggressive.”
.@AngeliqueKerber wraps up the set 6-2! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/UOBifNUCYj
— WTA (@WTA) 27 de marzo de 2017
After a tentative start, with both players feeling each other out in their first encounter, it all went the German’s way as her powerful game started to click together. She dictated with the forehand, breaking Ozaki twice for a 4-1 lead. The 22-year-old Japanese earned one of the breaks back, but it wasn’t enough to halt Kerber’s momentum as she steamrolled to the opening set.
The same pattern emerged in the final set; Kerber rolled ahead to a 5-0, triple break lead, but faltered for a moment against Ozaki’s slices and the Japanese grabbed one of the breaks back. Kerber stayed solid, though, and wrapped up the match moments later.
Despite the result, 22-year-old Ozaki will still have reason to celebrate. After reaching the main draw in her Miami Open debut, Ozaki is set to rise to a career-high ranking on Monday, projected to land inside the Top 75.
Moving on!@AngeliqueKerber books a spot in @MiamiOpen Quarterfinals! Cruises past Ozaki 6-2, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/bIMObErLu7
— WTA (@WTA) 27 de marzo de 2017
For Kerber, the challenge continues in the next round as she’ll face the winner between WTA veterans Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova for a spot in the semifinals.
“I think it doesn’t matter against who because they are both amazing players,” Kerber said. “Playing against Venus, I’m looking forward [to it] if it’s Venus. But as well if it’s Sveta, she’s played great tennis in the last few weeks. She reached the final in Indian Wells. She’s on fire, but also Venus, she played amazing this year so far.
“I’m looking forward to playing against them. We’ll see tonight.”
Highlights from the match at the Miami Open between Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
MIAMI, FL, USA – No.3 seed Simona Halep was pushed to the brink in a late night epic against Sam Stosur, needing to come back from a set down and save match point to book her spot into the Miami Open quarterfinals.
Halep books a blockbuster battle against Johanna Konta after emerging victorious in the two-hour-and-ten minute thriller, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
“It was a tough match, like I expected,” Halep told press after the match. “But the comeback was pretty good, and I’m really happy about that.
“The last comeback like this for me was in 2014, my first match in Doha against Kanepi. Match point down and I came back. I’m happy about this, shows I can still play some tennis.”
3rd Set!!@Simona_Halep saves a match point to force a decider vs Stosur 4-6, 7-5! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/s103xofKtn
— WTA (@WTA) 28 de marzo de 2017
The Romanian targeted the Aussie’s backhand throughout the early exchanges in the opening set, and was rewarded with an early break. She built up a solid 4-2 lead and looked set to wrap up the opening set, but Stosur had other plans.
Stosur got her heavy topspin forehand going and wreaking havoc on Halep’s game plan, and reeled off four straight games to snatch away the opening set. She went on a tear in the second, recovering from an early break and winning five of the next six games to serve for the match.
She even held a match point, at 5-4 on Halep’s serve, but the Romanian chose that moment to start mounting her epic comeback. A handful of loose errors from Stosur on key moments let Halep back into the set, and she took the next seven games in a row to take the second set and a break lead in the third.
With Stosur flagging and letting her aggression dip slightly, it was Halep who bossed the rallies and dictated play to extend the lead to 4-1. The Aussie didn’t have another comeback left in her, and Halep completed the comeback to move into the Miami quarterfinals.
Comeback Complete✔️@Simona_Halep saves a MATCH POINT to edge Stosur 4-6, 7-5, 6-2! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/0qeasy9VQ4
— WTA (@WTA) 28 de marzo de 2017
“When I was down, I wasn’t thinking about anything, nothing about the score,” Halep said. “I just wanted to fight. I didn’t give up, and I believed in my chance. I was maybe a little bit lucky because I came back from match point down, but still I fought for this.”
Halep will be rewarded for her efforts with another battle in the next round, this time against Britain’s No.1, Konta.
“It will be tough. She’s in a good form now, she’s near Top 10. And she plays great. It’s going to be a tough one, but here every match is tough so I don’t expect an easy one.
“I have my chance here to try my best and try to win, and of course tomorrow will help me to recover. Then I will go on court with confidence.”
Venus Williams won a battle of WTA veterans against Svetlana Kuznetsova, wrapping up the Monday night session and snatching the final Miami Open quarterfinal spot.
Check out Venus Williams’ shot of the day at the Miami Open.
Sun, sand and gorgeous ocean views: that’s what springs to mind when one hears “Miami,” and WTA stars have enjoyed plenty of that during the fortnight at the Miami Open! (© Getty Images)
Kristina Mladenovic and Daria Kasatkina took to the beach for a bit of football – but it’s not quite the kind they’re used to. (© Getty Images)
Joined by the ATP’s Jamie Murray, Bruno Soares and Joao Sousa, they got a crash course in “footvolley”. (© Getty Images)
A couple of World Footvolley pros were on hand to teach the tennis players a few moves. (© Getty Images)
Looks like Kiki’s got the hang of it! (© Getty Images)
Everyone gave footvolley a try – and it looks like they all enjoyed it! (© Getty Images)
Over in Wynwood, Elina Svitolina paid a visit to Miami’s iconic Wynwood Walls for a promotional photoshoot. (© Getty Images)
Wynwood Walls is famous for its diverse collection of street art and graffiti – which covers over 80,000 square feet of walls and features artists from all over the globe. (© Getty Images)
Elina got the chance to take in some of the colorful graffiti art… (© Getty Images)
…as well as take some photos of her own! (© Getty Images)
Back in Crandon Park, Ashleigh Barty delighted fans as she signed dozens of autographs at the Itaú Bank Booth. (© Getty Images)
The Aussie is enjoying a successful return to tennis after a sabbatical pursuing professional cricket. (© Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Dominika Cibulkova got a special visitor at her Miami Open practice session. (© Getty Images)
UFC fighter Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland was visiting the tournament and stopped by to meet the World No.4. (© Getty Images)
Domi tried to give fighting a go… (© Getty Images)
…and then Joanna tried Domi’s sport – good form on the forehand! (© Getty Images)
Johanna also did the coin toss during a couple of WTA matches – looks like she had fun! (© Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL, USA — Former World No. 5 Lucie Safarova recorded her first top 10 win since 2015 at the Miami Open on Monday, defeating World No. 4 Dominika Cibulkova, 7-6(5), 6-1 for a place in the quarterfinals.
“It was a great match and I’m really excited to be for the first time here in the quarterfinals,” Safarova told WTA Insider after the match. “I knew I had to come out really strong and play fast, and [not] let Dominika play her game. She puts a lot of balls back and she’s a very big fighter so I had to be really sharp and strong, which I was. I’m really happy it worked out.”
Now ranked World No. 36 and on the comeback trail from a bacterial infection that hampered her for parts of the past two seasons, Safarova earned her first win against a member of the WTA top 10 since defeating Angelique Kerber at the 2015 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Added Safarova: “[Winning today] means a lot. It feels great to be there again with the best players, being able to beat them means my level is there again.”
The pair, who were meeting for the eighth time overall in Miami, saw an opening set decided in a tie-break for the fourth time after trading breaks twice in the set. Trailing 4-3 in the tie-break, Safarova rifled a backhand return winner to pull level before running off three of the final four points to take a one-set lead.
Turning point in that tiebreak: this return from @luciesafarova, who goes on to take it 7-5. So intense she actually forgot the score! pic.twitter.com/k0vDTPD63N
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 27, 2017
“We’ve played so many matches against each other, of course also practices,” Safarova said about her history with the Slovak. “We know each other very well and we know what to expect!”
The second set proved closer than the score indicated inside the lines, as Safarova wrapped it up in 55 minutes — just one minute shy of the mark in the first. Four of the set’s seven games went to deuce, and the Czech was forced to save three break points before converting on her third match point for the win.
First Top 10 win since 2015!@LucieSafarova beats Cibulkova 7-6(5), 6-1 for a place in @MiamiOpen Quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/fu1OruTDZI
— WTA (@WTA) March 27, 2017
Safarova will take on Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals, who advanced after Garbiñe Muguruza retired with illness after the opening set. The pair have played seven times, with Wozniacki holding a 4-3 head-to-head lead.
“She’s playing great tennis again,” Safarova said of the Dane. “I think it’s a little bit similar game to Dominika — Caroline puts a lot of balls back. I have to be patient but play aggressive and again come up strong and try to go for it. I feel healthy now — thank God! (laughs) — and I’ll…keep trying to push my limits more and more.”