Surprisingly, Ashleigh Barty found World No. 1 in the match in her second round against qualifier Kristina Kucova, at 149. And the doubts turned into a tsunami.
“Naturally when you come down, it’s never easy to see yourself coming back,” Barty said later. “But it’s about continuing to do the right things and following the right processes over and over again. I think from that moment on, I hit a return winner and I felt like I just had to keep working, keep working, keep working.
“And you don’t know. Fun is a fun game. ”
Funny she should say that.
On Thursday, No. 1 Barty with Seed, No. 3 Simona Halep, No. 5 Elina Svitolina and No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka all they dropped their first sets.
Through a sporting miracle, however, the four main seeds gathered and won their games in three sets. So they will be at the end of Saturday’s spectacular lineup featuring two matchups between top champions – as well as three other Grand Slam winners.
And it’s only the third round.
“No matter what the outcome, no matter what we feel, no matter what the conditions, we will never give up,” Barty said. “I think that was very difficult today and I enjoyed every second one. ”
Enjoy these matchups.
No. 14 Victoria Azarenka vs. No. 24 Angelique Kerber
Azarenka and Kerber both fell in the first round of the Australian Open but have a chance to repurchase in Miami. Unfortunately, they have to play each other.
Azarenka holds an assured 8-1 margin, but Kerber’s win at the 2016 Australian Open came on her way to the title. In all, Kerber, 33, holds three Grand Slam singles titles, one in addition to the 31-year-old Azarenka.
“There are a lot of games against Vika in the past, so I know it’s another tough battle against them,” Kerber said after beating Renata Zarazua 6-0, 6-0. “I’m looking forward and trying to play, yeah, the way I played today and also the way I played the last few days here in Miami.
“You know, it’s going to be a good game.”
Azarenka, meanwhile, got a walk when Laura Siegemund pulled back with a knee injury. Azarenka, who won the West & South Open last year and reached the U.S. Open final, was visited with an injury. After defeating Svitolina to reach the semifinals in Doha, she withdrew with a back injury and did not play Dubai.
“It was a challenging start to the year for me where I felt I was playing well, but there were some things like some sort of catch, like minor injuries,” Azarenka said. “I felt like I wasn’t getting on the right track. After Doha, I took some time and put myself in a much better position 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
Barty, the Miami Open defensive champion, faces the 2017 French Open titlist Ostapenko.
That Miami win came to Barty in 2019 and, at the time, was her biggest career title and an instrument in her promotion to No. 1.
“It’s clear that Jelena has won one of the biggest games since that first strike, both off her first after-service strike and especially on her return, too,” Barty said. “She played once or twice. Yeah, it’s going to be sad. I need to put on my running shoes and make sure I can nest that first ball as best I can to turn it back in my favor. ”
Head-to-head is owned by Barty, 2-1, with the latest win coming two years ago in Sydney.
Ostapenko, 7-5 for the season, won each of her first two games in three sets over Wang Xiyu and Kirsten Flipkens.
No. 3 Simona Halep vs Anastasija Sevastova
This is the 10th meets between Halep and Sevastova, with Halep winning the past five.
Sevastova dominates a successful victory over No. 31 Coco Gauff. After dropping the first set, Sevastova came back to win 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
“Sevastova cuts the rhythm a bit more,” Halep said of her opponent. “You do not know what ball you would expect from her. At times she plays smoothly, very smoothly. Sometimes she can go high, sometimes chips, drop shots, a lot. So it’s hard to play against it all the time. ”
No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 32 Veronika Kudermetova
While Barty survived that game point against Kucova, Sabalenka saved two the face of Tsvetana Pironkova. Sabalenka got the upper hand in a third-set break, 11-9. She is well 4-0 in tiebreaks for 2021.
Next up: Kudermetova, who is 11-7 for the season and reached the first final of the WTA stage in Abu Dhabi. Her opponent there? Sabalenka won it 6-2, 6-2 and maintains a 2-0 career-to-head advantage.
No. 15 Iga Swiatek vs Ana Konjuh
In her Miami debut, Swiatek outscored Barbora Krejcikova 6-4, 6-2.
Wildcard Konjuh, a teenager in the top 20, is back after four surgeries. She brought down Madison Keys, bringing back WTA awards for the first time since 2017.
The two never played.
No. 9 Petra Kvitova vs. No. 17 Johanna Konta
This is the kind of depth Miami offers in the third round: Kvitova, a two-time Grand Slam champion, against Konta.
Kvitova holds a 3-2 head-to-head margin, but Konta won the most recent meeting, in the round of 16 at 2019 Wimbledon. Konta is the 2017 Miami champion.
Kvitova won 6-0, 6-4 over Alize Cornet, while Konta Magda handled Linette 6-4, 7-5.
No. 5 Elina Svitolina vs. No. 30 Ekaterina Alexandrova
Svitolina, 10-5 on the season, overcame Shelby Rogers 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 and maintains a 2-0 head-to-head lead over Alexandrova.
Their last meeting, to start the season in Abu Dhabi, went to tiebreaker in the third set.