Tennis News

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 – Three of the top five seeds at the Miami Open will be in action on a busy Saturday at Crandon Park. We preview the must-see match-ups here.

Saturday, Third Round

Stadium
[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #2) vs. Madison Brengle (USA #60)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Radwanska leads the WTA in match wins in 2016 with 18.
Agnieszka Radwanska, the 2012 Miami Open champion, was flawless in her second-round trouncing of France’s Alizé Cornet, and that’s pretty much been the case for the Pole in all her early-round matches in 2016. The WTA’s match win leader has reached the semifinals at each event she has played this year and she’ll look to maintain this consistency against Delaware’s Madison Brengle. Brengle backed up her first-round win over Italy’s Camila Giorgi by notching a 7-5, 6-4 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Thursday to reach the third round at the Miami Open for the first time. “I think we’ve never played before so that’s always a challenge,” Radwanska said when asked about facing 25-year-old Brengle for the first time. “I saw a bit of her matches this year and last year – a couple of good results for her.” Brengle has indeed developed into a solid WTA-level player over the past 12 months, but she’s struggled to make ends meet against the tour’s top dogs, going just 3-17 lifetime against the Top 20.

Pick: Radwanska in two

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. Zarina Diyas (KAZ #97)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Williams dropped just two games in the pair’s one and only encounter.
Serena Williams found herself in a spot of trouble in the second round on Thursday, but the World No.1 managed to gut out the win against Christina McHale in three tough sets. Adjusting to the slower conditions in Miami after two weeks in the California desert is never easy, but with a hard-fought win under her belt Williams should be better acclimated when she takes on Zarina Diyas on Saturday. Diyas upset Daria Gavrilova in straight sets on Thursday, and has dropped just nine games in her first two matches this week, but in order to keep up the pace the 22-year-old will have to find a way to flummox the best player in the history of this tournament. Williams owns a 65-5 career record at Miami, and has a knack for getting better as the tournament progresses.

Pick: Williams in two

Grandstand
[8] Petra Kvitova (CZE #7) vs. [30] Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #31)
Head-to-head: Kvitova leads, 4-2
Key Stat: Kvitova made her best result in Miami in 2014 when she reached the quarterfinals.
After a poor start to 2016 is Petra Kvitova finally hitting her stride stateside? The World No.7 has claimed four of five matches since starting the season at a 2-6 clip, and she’ll search for one of the biggest wins of her season against a proven entity in Ekaterina Makarova. While Kvitova is finding her form, her fellow southpaw from Russia seems to be headed in the opposite direction. Makarova has gone just 2-5 since reaching the round of 16 at the Australian Open, with four of those losses coming in straight sets. When it comes to performing in Miami, however, Makarova has been steady in the past. The Russian has reached the round of 16 in three of the last four years here, while Kvitova has only been past the third round once in Miami.

Pick: Kvitova in three

[16] Ana Ivanovic (SRB #17) vs. [19] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #20)
Head-to-head: Ivanovic leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Ivanovic had reached the round of 16 here four years running before losing to Sabine Lisicki in the third round last year.
Both Ana Ivanovic and Timea Bacsinszky are searching for character wins to build on in 2016, and their fourth career battle could be the perfect psychological tonic for Saturday’s eventual winner. Ivanovic and Bacsinszky have combined to go 1-6 against the Top 20 thus far this season, but the winner of this match will surely benefit from a bit of confidence that could spark the beginning of a deep run. The Serb leads the pair’s head-to-head by 2-1, but two of their three encounters have gone the distance. Bacsinszky has done a nice job of turning her season around in the last month. The Swiss has won five of seven after stumbling out of the gates to a 1-6 start. Will it be blossoming Bacsinszky who emerges, or will Ivanovic punch her ticket to the round of 16 with a much-needed win?

Pick: Ivanovic in three

Around the grounds…
Elina Svitolina and Caroline Wozniacki will meet for the first time on Saturday. Wozniacki has lost five of her last six matchups against Top 20 players, dating back to Wimbledon last year. Elsewhere, last year’s semifinalist Simona Halep will square off with Julia Goerges, and Svetlana Kuznetsova faces the gifted Caroline Garcia.

-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.2 seed Angelique Kerber showed signs of the form that took her to a maiden major title on Friday, dispatching Barbora Strycova in straight sets at the Miami Open.

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Since her Australian Open triumph this January, things on the court have not exactly gone to plan for Kerber; a glorious Fed Cup homecoming was spoiled by a Belinda Bencic-inspired Switzerland before early exits in Doha and Indian Wells.

The draw in Miami, though, was kind to the German, pairing her with Strycova, against whom she had never lost. In fact, in their three career meetings Kerber had not even dropped a set, a record she maintained in emphatic fashion on Friday, completing a 6-1, 6-1 win in just over an hour.

“It was a great start for me,” Kerber said. “I knew that Barbora was a tough opponent and it was a tricky one – she’s played very well this year. But I always go out there and try to play my game again and try to be tough mentally, run for every ball.

“I worked very hard before Miami, because I had a lot of time after Indian Wells and I think the hard work pays off again. I’m also a little bit more relaxed and healthy.”

Grand Slam success has done little to erode Kerber’s famed work ethic. The World No.3 even sought the advice from 22-time major winner Steffi Graf in the build up to the Indian Wells-Miami double-header.

“At the end of such a great success it’s always good to celebrate a little bit and of course no one can ever take it away from me,” Kerber added. “But now it’s time to get on court and work hard again and do the same things that made me strong before Australia, getting ready for me next matches and tournaments.” 

Next Kerber faces Kiki Bertens, after she overcame a disastrous start to upset No.25 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1.

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.13 seed Victoria Azarenka showed all of her grit and determination against an inspired Monica Puig, clinching a tight second set to win, 6-2, 6-4.

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Much like good friend and fellow BNP Paribas Open finalist Serena Williams, Azarenka had things all her own way to start, sprinting out to a 5-0 lead on a over-awed Puig. The Puerto Rican youngster was in no mood to sit back, however, and clawed one of the breaks back and played through most of the second set on level footing.

“With a game like this, she definitely has big potential going forward,” Azarenka told Andrew Krasny, complimenting Puig during her on-court interview but adding, “I have to be a little more careful because it was an escape a little bit in the second set.”

Keeping her side of the stats sheet even, the two-time Australian Open champion hit 19 winners to 19 unforced, while Puig was ultimately done in by 25 errors and eight double faults. In particular, the Azarenka serve has shown marked improvement to start the 2016 season, and the Belarusian finished the match with five aces – several appearing when she needed them most.

“I tried to be a little bit more aggressive because she started hitting everything on the rise, and I backed up a little bit. I just have to keep moving forward myself.”

Up next for Azarenka is qualifier Magda Linette; the Pole advanced after No.18 seed Jelena Jankovic was forced to retire just five points into their second round encounter with a right shoulder injury.

The former No.1 is the highest seed left in her section of the draw, with the bottom half seeds going 7-9 on the day – compared with the top half’s 10-6 record on Thursday. Among the casualties were No.17 seed Karolina Pliskova, who dropped a third set tie-break to Timea Babos, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(0), No.25 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who lost to qualifier Kiki Bertens, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, No.29 seed Sabine Lisicki, who squandered a 5-0 final set lead to Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(2), and No.27 seed Kristina Mladenovic, who fell to wildcard Nicole Gibbs, 6-2, 6-4.

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.