Tennis News

MIAMI, FL, USA – Margarita Gasparyan and Monica Niculescu produced a stirring second set comeback against Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva to become the first team into the doubles semifinals at the Miami Open.

Twenty-four hours earlier, Gasparyan and Niculescu had sent shockwaves through the draw by outclassing top seeds and defending champions Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. However, when they slipped 5-2 behind in the second set, hopes of building on this upset looked to be hanging in the balance.

The seeming inevitability of a match tie-break seemed to liberate the Eastern Europeans who played some swashbuckling tennis in far from ideal conditions to draw level then close out a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory.   

“I think we played our best match today, it was a very good win,” Niculescu said. “I was thinking it was going to be a very tough match. It’s not easy to beat No.1s in the world yesterday and then to come here – we know King won two Grand Slams.

“We’re happy to come back – it was a good win, we stayed focused, tried to stay aggressive. It was starting to rain a bit and was also very windy and now we’re in the semifinals! I’m so happy!”

Gasparyan and Niculescu’s previous two outings together ended in second-round defeats in Doha and Indian Wells, and the identity of their semifinal foes will not be revealed until Wednesday, when No.4 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova take on Kateryna Bondarenko and Olga Savchuk.

In the bottom half, Xu Yi-Fan and Zheng Saisai face Ekaterina Makarova and Barbora Strycova, while in the opening match on Stadium court No.3 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova take on fellow Grand Slam winners Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.

MIAMI, FL, USA – It is hard to recall a tennis season in recent memory that has thrown up quite so many surprises as the opening months of 2016.

Showcasing the unprecedented strength and depth of the women’s game, 15 tournaments have witnessed 13 different players lifting silverware. More remarkable still is World No.1 Serena Williams’s failure to enter the winner’s circle, a barren run that will now stretch into May following her fourth-round exit to Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Miami Open.

While it is arguable whether defeat to a two-time Grand Slam champion and former World No.2 should classify as a shock, there is no doubt the result underlines the current competitiveness on tour.

“I just think that overall the level is quite equal of other players,” Kuznetsova said in her press conference following the match. “You know, like some players out of like Top 30, they can beat anybody on good day.

“The thing is they cannot keep playing this good game. You can see some surprise wins in first two rounds. Everybody plays good and goes for their shots and everybody is really strong. But not everybody can keep doing this during the whole tournament. I think this is a bit frustrating. But overall, I think every round is extremely tough now.”

The 30-year-old’s next test comes in the shape of compatriot Ekaterina Makarova, herself no stranger to upsetting the apple cart.

Twice a Grand Slam semifinalist, Makarova has quietly been building up a head of steam at Crandon Park, following up a battling win over Lesia Tsurenko with dominant displays against Petra Kvitova and then Elina Svitolina.

Makarova had yet to make her WTA main draw debut when Kuznetsova was crowned Miami champion in 2006. “I’m too old! It was 10 years ago,” Kuznetsova joked. “I’ve been on this court many times. I love playing on this stage; the fans in my Miami are great. I love being back here and I’m really happy with my performance.”

Despite dominating her encounters with Makarova to date, Kuznetsova is wary of looking too far ahead: “I mean, it’s too early to say. You know, I have so many people saying congratulations I feel like I won the title already. It’s not real.

“Now these days the tennis is extremely tough and each opponent is really difficult to play. I’m just focusing for tomorrow’s match. I don’t have too much time to rest. Really looking forward to give my best another day tomorrow.”

The top half of the draw will be whittled down to two semifinalists after today’s action in Miami. Here’s a breakdown of the matchups.

Tuesday, Quarterfinals

[15] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #19) vs. [30] Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #31)
Head-to-head: Kuznetsova leads, 5-1
Key Stat: At 30, Kuznetsova is the oldest player remaining in the draw.
After ending Serena Williams’ 20-match Miami win streak on Monday, Svetlana Kuznetsova’s big task on Tuesday will be to put her feet back on the ground so that she may focus on the next task at hand. It might not be easy, given the character of the Russian’s emotional win over the World No.1. “I have so many people saying congratulations I feel like I won the title already,” joked Kuznetsova after recording her first win over a reigning World No.1 since the 2009 Roland Garros final (d. Safina). When she comes back to earth, Kuznetsova will head into her quarterfinal against compatriot Ekaterina Makarova with confidence to burn. She has won the pair’s last four tilts in straight sets, and is a former Miami Open champion who doesn’t mind the sweltering conditions at Key Biscayne. But Makarova is in good form as well, having knocked off Top 20 opponents in consecutive matches for the first time in over a year to reach her maiden Miami Open quarterfinal.

Pick: Kuznetsova in three

[5] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. [19] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #20)
Head-to-head: Halep leads, 2-0 (1-0 at Tour-level)
Key Stat: Bacsinszky recorded her fourth career Top 5 win (first Top 3) on Monday (4-13 overall).
Two players rounding into peak form will clash in a must-see quarterfinal on Tuesday, and while Simona Halep will come in as the favorite against 26-year-old Timea Bacsinszky, expect the Swiss to come out hungry for a shot of revenge. The last time Bacsinszky attempted to win back-to-back matches against Top 5 opponents she was shut down by Halep in the 2015 Shenzhen Open final, where she only managed four games. On Monday, Bacsinszky reached her first career quarterfinal at Miami with a gritty comeback against Agnieszka Radwanska, impressively wrestling control of the match from the World No.2 after a nervous start. Halep, who has won all six sets she’s played in Miami, should prove to be a tougher matchup for Bacsinszky. Many players struggle to contend with the Swiss’ world-class backhand, but the Romanian is such an exceptional mover, and so steady from both wings, that she should be able to weather the storm in the backhand rallies so that she may exploit the Swiss’ less steady forehand wing.

Pick: Halep in three

-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor