Miami masterclass: Mboko rips 32 winners in dominant win over Blinkova

MIAMI -- Unfazed by an early rain delay, No. 10 seed Victoria Mboko dominated Anna Blinkova 6-2, 6-0 to advance to the Miami Open third round for the first time.

The match was initially supposed to start at 10:30 a.m., one of the first on Friday, but was pushed back due to rain. Then, after Mboko and Blinkova traded breaks in the second and third games of the first set, a sudden downpour halted play.

Mboko retreated to the locker room for some cards, a go-to activity that keeps her calm during breaks and prevents any overthinking. (She prefers to stay off her phone in such situations.)

When they resumed close to 1:00 p.m., Mboko certainly seemed calm. She also seemed determined and loose, coming out of the gate firing and wasting no time taking control of the match. She lost one more game in the first set, but took the final eight games of the match to lock down the commanding straight-sets win.

The first match of a tournament is always a bit nervy, she said after the match, and getting off to a strong start is critical to ease those nerves.

"Before the match, I was kind of nervous a little bit," she admitted. "I mean, the first match of the tournament is never easy. You want to find your rhythm. You want to play well and set the tone for the rest of the tournament."

She did exactly that, hitting four aces and 32 winners in an overpowering performance. She also handled Blinkova's serve exceptionally well, winning over 70 percent of her first-serve return points and converting six of her seven break-point opportunities.

This was the first career meeting between Blinkova and Mboko on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. 

It's only Mboko's second time playing the Miami Open. She reached the second round last year, beating Camilia Osorio before falling to Paula Badosa in a third-set tiebreaker.

Next up for Mboko is Anastasia Zakharova, who upset 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya. Mboko and Zakharova have never played.