Osaka Gets Walkover, Bencic Wins In Miami; 3R Sunday With Gauff, Azarenka v Fruhvirtova
Naomi Osaka had the easiest day possible not having to hit a ball at the Miami Masters and advance to the third round after Karolina Muchova withdrew ahead of their match due to an ab issue.
Muchova missed six months with an ab injury before returning this week, but after a tough win over Leylah Fernandez, the Czech sided with caution.
“Im sad that I cannot put up a battle against Naomi today. After a long break from tennis, 2 tough matches in row have been a lot for my body and I need longer to recover. Was nice to be part of @MiamiOpen again! I will be back on clay!” she posted on twitter.
Eight matches were scheduled today in the the women’s and only five saw a match point. A left arm injury forced Anna Kalinskaya out giving Lucia Bronzetti a spot in the fourth round, and Katernia Siniakova retired down a set to an illness putting Daria Saville into the last 16.
Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins took out former No. 2 Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-4 and gold medalist Belinda Bencic dusted Heather Watson 6-4, 6-1.
Alison Riske, Ons Jabuer and Aliaksandra Sansnovich also were winners. Riske will now face Osaka on Monday.
Tomorrow, the theme will be teens on grandstand as 18-year-old Coco Gauff is back to battle Shuai Zhang. And just before Coco, it’s 16-year-old Czech prodigy Linda Fruhvirtova against 2-time Miami winner Victoria Azarenka.
“I have always answered that I want to reach No. 1. I want to win Grand Slam titles, which hasn’t changed,” said Fruhvirtova who has a younger sister, Brenda, also on the tour. “We always said that with my sister it’s my goal and, yeah, we just want to achieve that.”
The next No. 1, Iga Swiatek, returns to face the awkward Madison Brengle and Petra Kvitova is also scheduled.
“Playing against Madison is always tricky because she plays in such a different rhythm than most of the players,” said Swiatek. “I will have to be careful, you know, but on the other hand, I still want to be focused on my tennis that I’m able to show and being aggressive and being proactive.”
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