Miami Saturday: Brengle's Big Moment

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

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

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