Miami Open: Rybakina saves match point to extend win streak; Mertens wins

Miami, March 26 (IANS): World No.7 Elena Rybakina rallied from a set down to defeat former No.2 Paula Badosa 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the third round of the WTA section of the Miami Open.

The victory extended Rybakina’s current win streak to 10 matches and kept the Indian Wells champion’s hopes alive of sweeping a double in Florida.

Rybakina will face Elise Mertens in the Round of 16 on Monday. Mertens booked a spot in her first fourth round at a WTA 1000 this season by defeating 29th seed Petra Martic 6-4, 6-3 in a match that ended well after 1:00 a.m.

Coming off her triumph in the California desert a week ago, Rybakina has had to go the distance in her first two matches in Miami. In her opening match, Rybakina defeated Anna Kalinskaya 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

But facing Badosa for the seventh time in her career was a different challenge. While the Spaniard may be struggling to start her 2023 campaign, having dropped down to No.29 in the rankings, Badosa came into the match with a 4-2 lead in their head-to-head. Badosa also found herself in a moment of transition, having recently split with coach Jorge Garcia.

In another match on Saturday, Elise Mertens of Belgium defeated Petra Martic 6-4, 6-3 of Croatia.

Hurkacz down Kokinakis

Former champion Hubert Hurkacz of Poland saved five match points en route to a memorable 6-7(10), 7-6(7), 7-6(6) victory against Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia in a three-hour, 31 minutes marathon in the Miami Open on Saturday evening.

The 26-year-old World No 9, who defeated Jannik Sinner in the final to win the 2021 Miami Open title, won his Round of 32 match, which has turned out to be the longest three-set match of 2023.

Hurkacz saved three match points in the second-set tie-break and another two in the final-set tie-break, ultimately finding a way to win after three hours and 31 minutes, marking the longest best-of-three match of the season.

The eighth seed saved the first three match points at 4/6, 5/6 and 6/7 in the second-set tie-break. On the first of those points, Kokkinakis jammed himself on a forehand volley right on top of the net, then missed forehands on the next two.

But perhaps the most jaw-dropping match point save came when the Australian served at 6/4 in the final-set tie-break. After missing his first serve, Kokkinakis delivered a slice second serve into the body and Hurkacz responded by deflecting the pace up the line for a return winner. The disbelief was clear on Kokkinakis’ face.

Meanwhile, Felix Auger-Aliassime needed every ounce of his Top 10 experience to overcome the spirited Thiago Monteiro in another Round of 32 match.

The Canadian prevailed 7-6(5), 7-6(8) to down the Brazilian World No. 81 in a match that featured no breaks of serve. Auger-Aliassime let slip four match points in a dramatic second-set tie-break, but Monteiro pushed a volley wide on his fifth as the 22-year-old wrapped a hard-earned two-hour, 41-minute triumph in front of a raucous Grandstand crowd.

Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev breezed past Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1, 6-2; second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece advanced as he got a walkover from Richard Gasquet of France; Frances Tiafoe of the United States overcame Yosuke Watanuki of Japan 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-4 while 14th seed Karen Khachanov defeated Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

In other matches, Quentin Halys of France stunned 15th seed Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 7-6(8), American qualifier Christopher Eubanks upset 17th seed Borna Coric of Croatia 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 and another qualifier Cristian Garin of Chile defeated Sebastian Baez of Argentina 7-6(2), 6-3.

Coco Gauff loses lead

Coco Gauff let a big lead slip away and wound up dropping the last five games of a mistake-filled 6-7 (8), 7-5, 6-2 loss to Anastasia Potapova in the third round of the Miami Open.

The No. 6-seeded Gauff, a 19-year-old from nearby in Florida, was critical of herself afterward, saying that her footwork wasn’t great, that her mindset was off and that she played too defensively after serving for the victory at 5-3 in the second set on Saturday.

“That’s kind of been where I’ve been messing up in all my matches this year. All the ones I’ve lost I think I lost because of that. I think it should be more used as a tool in a toolbox than as a weapon,” Gauff said. “I think I have to change my mentality in the game about not relying on that too much because I think sometimes I play a little bit too passive because I know I can get to balls.”

She heard chants of “Let’s go, Coco!” from spectators at the hard-court tournament as she overcame a 5-2 deficit in the opening set, then erased a pair of set points for Potapova in that tiebreaker. Gauff grabbed the set on her second chance with a cross-court backhand winner.

The 2022 French Open runner-up then seemed to be pulling away, going up a break in the second set at 5-3. But Gauff eased up and Potapova became more aggressive in their lengthy baseline back-and-forths, taking four games in a row on a sunny afternoon with the temperature above 80 degrees Fahrenheit (nearing 30 degrees Celsius).