Ashleigh Barty cruises past Jelena Ostapenko at Miami Open

Ashleigh Barty put behind a shaky start in the R2 to cruise past Jelena Ostapenko in R3 at the Miami Open.

Ostapenko entered this match in strong form having demolished her opponents in the previous rounds. None of that was on display early in this match as she rushed from one error to another. Barty did not need to do much initially taking an early 3-0 lead. After that Ostapenko settled in a bit later on but she could not turn it around.

In the 2nd set, Ostapenko took an early 2-0 lead but Barty came back furious to win the next four games taking a 4-2 lead. Barty played much better than in the previous match as Ostapenko just didn't have the consistency to string together a good enough run. Barty would add another break later on and wrap up the match with 6-2.

A much better performance from Barty overall against an opponent who did not play her best tennis today which helped. A needed victory as she continues to shake off the rust en route to the title defense.