The Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova and 18th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia each recorded straight-set upsets on Sunday in the third round of the Miami Open.
Vondrousova earned a 6-1, 6-2 win against countrywoman and No. 17 seed Karolina Pliskova, while Alexandrova knocked off No. 9 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland with a 7-6 (8), 6-3 victory.
In a match that lasted just 52 minutes, Vondrousova won 23 of 31 first-serve points (74 percent), saved 4 of 6 break points (67 percent) and converted 6 of 8 break points (75 percent) in what was an all-around dominating performance. She was especially stellar in the second set, where she won the first five games before losing her serve.
Alexandrova notched eight aces against four double faults and faced a bit more pushback from Bencic, who rallied back from deficits of 3-1 and 4-2 in the first set to force the lengthy tiebreaker. The second set wasn’t nearly as difficult for Alexandrova, though, as she jumped out to a 4-1 edge before coasting to the finish.
Alexandrova will face Canada’s Bianca Andreescu in the next round after Andreescu topped Sofia Kenin of the United States 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the round of 16 for the third time in three trips to the Miami Open.
“Last time I played here in 2021, I did not enjoy myself,” Andreescu said. “I did not feel that I deserved to be in that final. But this year, I feel like a totally different person, and I definitely feel I deserve to be here right now.”
No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus also cruised to victory, beating No. 31 seed Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2. But 16th seed Barbora Krejcikova and 15th seed Petra Kvitova made up for their fellow Czech’s loss, downing 19th-seeded American Madison Keys 7-6 (4), 6-3 and ousting No. 22 seed Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-4, 7-6 (3), respectively.
Other winners Sunday included Sorana Cirstea of Romania and Russia’s Varvara Gracheva.
–Field Level Media
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