Kerber into the quarters at the Miami Open

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Angelique Kerber coasted to another victory at the Miami Open. The world number one made it an easy Monday at Crandon Park Tennis Center dispatching tournament qualifier Risa Ozaki in a

6-2, 6-2 win on Grandstand court.

It was a clear challenge for the young Japanese star to take on the former world number one. The 22 year old never faced the high ranked German before but making it this deep into a high class tournament is perfect for her to make a big appearance against Kerber. Ozaki is on a five match winning streak downing Louisa Chirico, Kiki Bertens and Julia Goerges along the way to get into the fourth round. Though it wasn’t as easy as Kerber’s straight sets wins to date, she gave the indication that her efforts would be assured against the number one seed with an upset and a quarterfinal spot on the line.

She came right out with a love service on Kerber till the second seed got a point before the game ended. In response, Kerber brought her best but saw the challenge from the qualifier who forced deuce. The number one seed managed to get out of trouble using her tough forehand to save her service hold. She turned up the heat big smashing away at Ozaki that gave her a huge 4-1 commanding lead.

Ozaki ended her opponent’s streak with an opening break for herself, but it was barely a dent in the gap between the two on the scoreboard. Kerber snapped out another victory to serve for the set in the eighth reaching set point. She claimed it on an unforced error from the forehand of the Japanese player to end the first in 30 minutes with Kerber very much in control. She averaged a serve of 60 percent as well as her returns.

Kerber didn’t let off the gas at the start of the second dominating the ball on both ends of the court that led into a runaway for the world number one. She had every answer against the young Japanese player who quickly found herself running out of options. It was 5-0 in favor of Kerber who gained the honor of serving for the match with enough time to finish in under an hour.

Ozaki denied her that chance winning a key break that kept her alive going onward in the set. She served up a big one in the eighth winning by two game points and her second of the set. The challenge returned when Kerber got the ball striking shots that left the 22 year old defenseless against the serve. A fifth double fault put her into the game but an unforced error set up match point for the German. The final rally concluded with a wide return from the youngster ending her run at the tournament in 62 minutes.

Despite only winning four games in the match, the world number one was humble and impressed at the attempts of her opponent on court. “I think she played a very good tournament,” she said during her on court interview. “She got through the qualifications playing three good matches so well done to her. I was trying to play my game playing aggressive, being positive and its nice being in the quarters here.

Kerber will await her next challenge that could put her against Indian Wells finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova or American tennis veteran Venus Williams.

Wozniacki wins on Muguruza retirement at Miami Open

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Caroline Wozniacki had herself in a great match that ended suddenly at the Miami Open Monday. Sixth seeded Garbine Muguruza showed signs of illness but fought through a tough first set that led to her retirement from the fourth round at Crandon Park Tennis Center. The 7-6(1) score ended what was clearly looking like a fight to the distance.

Two of the biggest tennis stars get back to their rivalry after a two year hiatus. Muguruza broke the winning streak of the former number one getting a huge win at Wimbledon that ended in straight sets. For a second time, they fought for a spot in the quarterfinals where both have an equal chance of standing as the strongest player left in the tournament. The Dane coasted through her last pair of matches while the Spaniard has struggled playing consecutive three setters. The rain delay she had in her opening round took a lot out of her and having to play on back to back days didn’t make it easier. With the day off on Sunday, Muguruza comes in on leveled ground to make it a fair fight to the finish.

The start from the Spaniard didn’t come off so well but a double fault from Wozniacki allowed the sixth seed to secure the opening break. The break continued as Muguruza tried to save her service game in the second but unforced errors kept her from coming back. Wozniacki warmed up just enough to capture her first serve with a shutout in the third to consolidate a two game streak.

Muguruza saw the errors increase during the next two games that made the movement easy for the Dane to gain a substantial 4-1 rout. During the break, Muguruza’s coach Sam Sumyk came out to let his player know that nothing was wrong with her game but that the shots had to be brought in. With the ball in hand in the sixth, she showed some offense making the serves hard for Wozniacki to return on. It ended the three game winning streak and the hope for more to level back in the set.

Muguruza put in a lot of work to keep the winning alive fighting with all she had in the seventh. The Spaniard forced deuce that spanned five breaks back and forth with Wozniacki. In the end, the sixth seed secured another break to go for a chance to comeback full on serve. She got it done with major improvements to the offense that was clearly heating up. She continued to consolidate all her hard work into a force that was putting Wozniacki into pressure. She showed a loss of control that Muguruza countered on to achieve her first lead of the set and a chance to win it with the ball in hand.

Wozniacki made it hard for the sixth seed to get away easily with the set forcing deuce in the process to save the set. Gaining the advantage in the break, the former number one delivered a high shot smash to win the tenth forcing the set forward with the quality of gameplay even. Gaining the break increased the confidence in Wozniacki to hold serve and step into the lead once more hoping to capture leverage in the match.

Muguruza made that very difficult for Wozniacki to get done and put in plenty of work to force the first tiebreaker played between one another leaving it anyone’s to take. Wozniacki jumped to a 3-0 score with an unforced error and double fault leading the way before winning on her own return. When the ball got into the 26 year old’s hands, she fired off an ace that put her in the best spot to get to seven points. Muguruza scored her first point showing good positioning before a shot on the rally killed her efforts. A fifth double fault put the Dane up for set point winning on a return that landed long ending 70 minutes of play. During the break, Muguruza had the trainer out explaining that she didn’t feel well. The trainer took her temperature, blood pressure, and came to the conclusion that retiring was the best of course of action.

“She said she wasn’t feeling that great so I wish her a speedy recovery and hopefully its nothing serious,” Wozniacki said about her opponent after the match.

“She was a tough player,” she said. “She has a lot of power, takes the ball very early and I just had to grind out there and it was tough mentally being up 4-1 and seeing myself down 5-4.” She’ll hope to not have a tough opening set like that when she faces Czech star Lucie Safarova in the quarterfinal.

Mattek-Sands wins big for her birthday at the Miami Open

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Bethanie Mattek-Sands earned a terrific birthday present at the Miami Open Thursday night. The American devastated world number 10 Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-4 on Court Two at Crandon Park Tennis Center.

The high ranked Ukrainian has defeated the American twice since 2014 but none of their meetings came easy to win. Mattek-Sands puts her heart and energy into every game making life difficult for those that stand in her way. The 21-year-old gave it her best against Katerina Siniakova winning a tough three setter to get into this position. Svitolina hoped that despite her loss to Muguruza at Indian Wells, that she could start another longstanding winning streak and go for another big WTA title to her name.

A positive start on the return helped Svitolina take the lead in the opening game with Mattek-Sands putting a little too much speed on the ball. She made up for it in the second pushing the returns with her skills playing doubles. It led to a confident victory to go on with more of it. The American gave it her all in the third playing out the longest game of the match to come out front on the leaderboard against Svitolina.

Not wanting to be trailing, the world number ten fought back on serve to level things at four despite underperforming on the first serve. It was very clear to the American who continued to attack the current weakness of her opponent and regain the lead. Her use of the drop shots near the net were beating Svitolina big in the sixth but the fight from the Ukrainian was out. Unforced errors helped her save two break points sending the players to deuce before coming out with the set once again evened.

Mattek-Sands was in control of her service and dictated strongly enough to beat Svitolina in front of the net. The Ukrainian showed frustration with the current situation needing a difference maker to occur. She took a talk from her coach who suggested to change up the pace and make her work harder for points.

After Mattek-Sands completed her medical timeout, play resumed with the world number 10 bringing improvements on court. While it helped her on serve, defending against the American was still a problem. The victory proved that it was going to remain a very tight push to the finish with either one coming out ahead.

The American had her chance to win the break and the set but Svitolina denied her that with an ace to save herself from certain disappointment. She added heat to her serve which got the best of Mattek-Sands. It led the set into further games where the momentum Svitolina carried gave her life. Despite all her energy to be the front runner, the newly turned 32-year-old denied her opponent any comfort taking a 6-5 hold for a chance at a big lead in the match.

She pulled out three set points before Svitolina got control of the ball to land an ace. It was too little too late as she fell to the American who won the key point ending 65 minutes of play. The workhorse in her first serve was above average as well as her key point wins on the break. Svitolina’s trouble returning put her in a situation she didn’t feel comfortable in but knew what to expect once again. That and the wind didn’t help her efforts to find control with the ball on serve or returns unable to adjust to it.

Before the second set could begin, rain fell upon the open court that suspended things until the chance to play could resume. After an 80-minute delay, the two began the second set with Mattek-Sands in control of the ball. It resulted in a key break for Svitolina who came in with a lot more energy and power to lead and gain confidence along the way. She remained in a tie with the American who still had a higher degree of response each time.

Svitolina took her down a few pegs with a big answer in the fifth breaking Mattek-Sands in the process. The world number ten showed more power by holding things together to consolidate a second victory giving her first big lead of the match. The winning streak for the Ukrainian was short lived as a hold from the birthday girl got her back within reach through seven. Gaining the tie on the break gave her a push to go for it all.

A big hold in the ninth had Svitolina on the ropes as she served to stay alive. It was too much for her to deal with the consistent of Mattek-Sands drop shots that earned her a spot in the third round as the best birthday present ever. She concluded one of the biggest wins for her this season in 1 hour and 48 minutes with every notion to celebrate the remainder of the day. She’ll await the winner between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Yaroslava Shvedvova.