Saturday preview: Azarenka-Kerber clash headlines spectacular lineup in Miami
Inexplicably, World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty found herself facing match point in her second-round match against qualifier Kristina Kucova, ranked No. 149. And the doubts swept in like a tsunami.
“Naturally when you’re match point down, it’s never easy to be able to see yourself coming back,” Barty said later. “But it’s about continuing to do the right things and stick to the right processes over and over. I think from that match point, I hit a return winner and felt like I just needed to keep working, keep working, keep working.
“And you never know. Sport’s a funny game.”
Funny she should mention that.
On Thursday, No. 1-seeded Barty, No. 3 Simona Halep, No. 5 Elina Svitolina View Profile and No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka View Profile all dropped their first sets.
Through the miracle of sport, though, all four top seeds rallied and won their matches in three sets. And so, they headline a spectacular Saturday lineup that features two matchups between major champions – plus three other Grand Slam winners.
And it’s only the third round.
“No matter what the result, no matter what we’re feeling, no matter the conditions, we just never give up,” Barty said. “I think that was a really tough one today and I enjoyed every single second of it.”
Enjoy these matchups.
No. 14 Victoria Azarenka View Profile vs. No. 24 Angelique Kerber
Azarenka and Kerber both fell in the first round of the Australian Open but have a chance for redemption in Miami. Unfortunately, they have to play each other.
Azarenka holds a decisive 8-1 edge, but Kerber’s win came at the 2016 Australian Open on her way to the title. In all, Kerber, 33, has three Grand Slam singles titles, one more than the 31-year-old Azarenka.
“There are a lot of matches against Vika in the past, so I know it’s another hard battle against her,” Kerber said after defeating qualifier Renata Zarazua View Profile 6-0, 6-0. “I’m looking forward and try to playing, yeah, like I played today and also like I played the last few days here in Miami.
“You know, it will be a good match.”
Azarenka, meanwhile, received a walkover when Laura Siegemund View Profile withdrew with a knee injury. Azarenka, who won the Western & Southern Open last year and reached the US Open final, has also been visited by injury. After defeating Svitolina to reach the semifinals in Doha, she withdrew with an ailing back and did not play Dubai.
“It was a bit of a challenging beginning of the year for me where I felt I was playing good, but some things were kind of catching, like little injuries,” Azarenka said. “I felt that I wasn’t getting on the right track. After Doha, I took some time and I really put myself in a much better situation physically and mentally to be able to be here.”
This is one of her happy places; Azarenka is a three-time Miami champion, winning in 2009, 2011 and 2016.
No. 1 Ashleigh Barty vs. Jelena Ostapenko View Profile
Barty, the Miami Open defending champion, faces 2017 French Open titlist Ostapenko.
That Miami win for Barty came in 2019 and, at the time, was her biggest career title and instrumental in her rise to No. 1.
Defending champ mentality 👉🧠
— wta (@WTA) March 25, 2021
Top seed @ashbarty saves a match point and escapes Kucova to reach the third round!#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/LTUCFVTjE1
“Jelena obviously has got one of the biggest games from that first strike, both off kind of her first ball after serve and particularly off the return, as well,” Barty said. “Played her a couple of times. Yeah, it’s going to be tough. I’m going to have to have my running shoes on and make sure I’m able to neutralize off that first ball as best I can to try and turn it back in my favor.”
The head-to-head belongs to Barty, 2-1, with the most recent win coming two years ago in Sydney.
Ostapenko, 7-5 for the season, won each of her first two matches in three sets over Wang Xiyu and Kirsten Flipkens.
No. 3 Simona Halep vs. Anastasija Sevastova
This is the 10th meeting between Halep and Sevastova, with Halep winning the past five.
Sevastova is coming off a rousing victory over No. 31 Coco Gauff View Profile . After dropping the first set, Sevastova came back to win 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
“Sevastova is cutting the rhythm a little bit more,” Halep said of her opponent. “You never know what ball to expect from her. Sometimes she plays flat, very flat. Sometimes she can go high, sometimes slices, drop shots, many. So it’s tough to play against her all the time.”
No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka View Profile vs. No. 32 Veronika Kudermetova View Profile
While Barty survived that match point against Kucova, Sabalenka saved two against Tsvetana Pironkova. Sabalenka prevailed in a third-set tiebreak, 11-9. She is a sparkling 4-0 in tiebreaks for 2021.
Next up: Kudermetova, who is 11-7 for the season and reached her first WTA-level final in Abu Dhabi. Her opponent there? Sabalenka won it 6-2, 6-2 and holds a career 2-0 head-to-head advantage.
No. 15 Iga Swiatek View Profile vs. Ana Konjuh
In her Miami debut, Swiatek dispatched Barbora Krejcikova View Profile 6-4, 6-2.
Wildcard Konjuh, once a teenager in the top 20, is back after four elbow surgeries. She took down Madison Keys View Profile , giving her back-to-back WTA wins for the first time since 2017.
The two have never played.
No. 9 Petra Kvitova vs. No. 17 Johanna Konta
This is the kind of depth Miami’s third round offers: Kvitova, a two-time Grand Slam champion, versus Konta.
Kvitova holds a 3-2 head-to-head edge, but Konta won the most recent meeting, in the round of 16 at 2019 Wimbledon. Konta is the 2017 Miami champion.
Kvitova eased to a 6-0, 6-4 win over Alize Cornet, while Konta handled Magda Linette View Profile 6-4, 7-5.
No. 5 Elina Svitolina View Profile vs. No. 30 Ekaterina Alexandrova View Profile
Svitolina, 10-5 on the season, got past Shelby Rogers 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 and holds a 2-0 head-to-head margin over Alexandrova.
Their last meeting, to start the season in Abu Dhabi, went to a third-set tiebreaker.
