Miami: Azarenka vs. Linette
Victoria Azarenka takes on Magda Linette in the third round of the Miami Open.
Victoria Azarenka takes on Magda Linette in the third round of the Miami Open.
MIAMI, FL, USA – No.2 seed Angelique Kerber needed three sets, but dispatched young Hungarian Timea Babos in emphatic style, striking a screaming forehand passing shot to win, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, and complete the quarterfinal line-up at the Miami Open.
Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Kerber appeared well in control of the contest as she took the opening set, but Babos, buoyed by a strong on-court coaching session with Thomas Drouet, leveled the match and led by a break in the third before the reigning Australian Open champion recovered the plot – capturing five of the final six games to reach the last eight in Miami and reclaim the No.2 ranking from Agnieszka Radwanska.
“Timea was playing very well,” the German told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “I started the match good and I played a good first set but she came back stronger.
“I was trying to fight until the last point; I was down in the third set and I was just believing in myself that I could turn it around.”
The two hour and eight minute match bled into Tuesday, but Kerber is no stranger to the lateness of the hour, once battling to 3:10am to outlast Daria Gavrilova at last year’s Apia International Sydney.
“I won it and to be in the next round is just a great feeling – after midnight, but it’s good to be still in the tournament.”
SHOT! Angie Kerber. Tracks down a drop shot from Babos and hits a great curler for a winner. #MiamiOpen
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 29, 2016
With Radwanska and World No.1 Serena Williams bowing out in the fourth round, Kerber is the highest-ranked woman left in the draw, and is looking close to the level that took her to the title in Melbourne just two months ago – hitting 20 winners and converting seven of eight break point opportunities.
“I wasn’t thinking about this on court,” she said when asked about the upsets. “I’m just trying to play my game and focus on me, improve my tennis playing round to round. It’s good to be back here in Miami; it’s amazing you guys stayed here until this time, thank you so much!”
Up next for Kerber is No.22 seed Madison Keys, who strolled into the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Irina-Camelia Begu. The two last played in the finals of the Volvo Car Open, which the German narrowly won in three tight sets.
“Madison is a great young player; she plays great matches against me and we’ve had tough battles in the past. I’m looking forward; she’s at home here, and I will just try to take the challenge against her and play a good match.”
.@AngeliqueKerber backhand down the line coming right at ya! #WTA pic.twitter.com/T9TlBylaZf
— WTA (@WTA) March 29, 2016
Madison Keys takes on Roberta Vinci in the third round of the Miami Open.
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.
Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
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.
Garbiñe Muguruza takes on Nicole Gibbs in the third round of the Miami Open.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Victoria Azarenka survived a late wobble to defeat No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza and keep alive her hopes of becoming the first player in a decade to complete the Indian Wells-Miami double.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Miami right here on wtatennis.com!
No one since Kim Clijsters in 2005 has managed to win the two Premier Mandatory events in the same year and Azarenka weathered a barrage of winners from Muguruza to prevail, 7-6(6), 7-6(4), and book a quarterfinal spot.
“I think it was a high-quality match for both of us. It was a lot of good striking, a lot of winners, and both of us taking opportunities,” Azarenka said. “I think today I served really well, and I played to win in important moments. Momentum shifting, I think I was a little better today.”
Azarenka has started the year like a freight train, claiming titles in Brisbane and Indian Wells and winning 19 of 20 matches. Sandwiched between her triumphs in Australia and California was the sole setback, defeat to an inspired Angelique Kerber in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
This disappointment only seems to have fuelled the fire in the Belarusian and in a contest of fine margins and superlative shotmaking against Muguruza it was her game that stood firm at the pivotal moments.
Azarenka, who lifted the Miami Open in 2009 and 2011, produced an ace and a brilliant return to recover from 6-4 down in the first set tie-break and then forged 5-2 ahead in the second. Muguruza, though, went down all guns blazing, drawing level amidst a barrage of winners only to succumb in another tie-break.
In the last eight, Azarenka will face Johanna Konta, a 6-2, 6-2 winner earlier in the day over Monica Niculescu.
A leg injury to Azarenka cut short the only previous meeting between the two in Wuhan last autumn, since when the Briton has established herself at the top of the game.
“We have played in Wuhan last year, but it was difficult to consider that a full match since I didn’t really feel physically well or wasn’t good on the court,” Azarenka said. “But it’s really impressive to see how much she improved over the last couple months. Obviously had some great results; playing with a lot of confidence.
“She has a very solid game; big serve. I’m just looking forward to that challenge.”
Fantastic quality between Azarenka-Muguruza. The stats, as great as they are, don’t even capture it. pic.twitter.com/INJzhMOrMS
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 28, 2016
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the third round of the Miami Open.
Margarita Gasparyan and Monica Niculescu dealt Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis, the World No.1 doubles team, their most comprehensive loss of the year to advance to the quarterfinals in Miami.
An interview with Victoria Azarenka after her third round win at the Miami Open.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Who is the lowest-ranked player left in Miami? Whose famous footsteps is Serena Williams looking to follow? And how many hours has the indefatigable Irina-Camelia Begu spent on court?
With the field at the Miami Open now whittled down to 16, wtatennis.com and SAP thought it time to go looking for answers…
381 – Irina-Camelia Begu has spent 381 minutes on court thus far, more than any other player in the tournament.
69 – World No.69 Heather Watson is the only player left in the draw ranked outside the Top 50.
21 – At 21 years old, Madison Keys is the youngest player left in the draw. It is the first time in the tournament’s 32-year history a teenager has failed to make it to the fourth round.
20 – Serena Williams is on a 20-match winning streak going into her encounter with Svetlana Kuznetsova; her last loss came to Caroline Wozniacki in the 2012 quarterfinals.
15 – Fifteen of the 16 remaining in the draw have won a WTA singles title. The odd one out is Johanna Konta, who, at No.24, is also the highest-ranked player on tour not to have reached the winner’s circle.
11 – The number of different nationalities represented in the fourth round – Romania leads the way with three players.
10 – Ten of the remaining players have never reached the quarterfinals in Miami (Timea Babos, Timea Bacsinszky, Begu, Keys, Konta, Ekaterina Makarova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Monica Niculescu, Elina Svitolina, Watson)
9 – Eight-time Miami champion Serena Williams remains on course to become only the third player to lift the same WTA even nine times or more, after Martina Navratilova (Chicago, Eastbourne, Wimbledon, Washington, Dallas) and Steffi Graf (Berlin).
8 – Eight of the of leading 16 seeds reached their appointed fourth-round slots.
7 – Of the players left in the draw, seven have been ranked either No.1 or No.2.
5 – The No.1 seed has reached the quarterfinals (or better) in each of the past five years – Caroline Wozniacki was the last to fail, losing to Andrea Petkovic in the fourth round in 2011. The top seed has lifted the title on 13 occasions.
4 – Four former champions are still in contention: Williams (2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015), Kuznetsova (2006), Victoria Azarenka (2009, 2011) and Agnieszka Radwanska (2012).
3 – For the third straight year, three unseeded players have made it through to the last 16: Babos, Begu and Watson.
2 – Azarenka remains on course to complete the Indian Wells-Miami double. Graf (1994, 1996) and Kim Clijsters (2005) are the only players to achieve the feat.
1 – Watson received one of the tournament’s eight wildcards; only once in the past five years has a wildcard failed to reach the last 16 in Miami.
0 – Konta and Watson are bidding to become the first British player to reach the quarterfinals in Miami. Jo Durie (1988) also reached the fourth round.
