Elena
Rybakina (No. 4) returned to the
Miami Open with a victory over
Clara Tauson
(No. 91) by 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. The Kazakhstani player revisited the tournament
where she reached the final last year but was defeated by the 2-time Grand Slam
champion Petra Kvitova.
This time
around, Rybakina faced some physical challenges as she had to withdraw before
starting her campaign in Indian Wells (where she was defending her title) and
returned to her first match since the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
quarterfinals, a tournament from which she withdrew before entering the
quarterfinal stage.
In the
first set, Rybakina struggled with her serve, with only a 50% first serve
percentage, winning 60% of them and just 27% with her second serve. Although
the Kazakhstani initially took the lead in points, she was imprecise and
allowed the Danish player to secure the first break in the fifth game. However,
Tauson's advantage was short-lived as she immediately lost her serve.
Nevertheless,
Tauson kept her composure and was superior in playing short points. The world
No. 91 won 57% of the return points and secured two consecutive breaks to take
the first set 6-3.
Rybakina
didn't appear comfortable on the court but entered the second set much more
precise. The former Wimbledon champion earned a break early in the second game
and maintained the lead without either player threatening the other's service
for most of the set.
'The Ice
Queen' was up 5-3 and had the service in her favor to claim the set but
squandered two set points before Tauson leveled the set at 5-5. Despite missing
her chances, the world No. 4 won the last eight consecutive points and closed
out the set 7-5 to force a decider.
The third
set maintained the dynamic of short points, but this time Rybakina made some
approaches to the net and sought variety in her groundstrokes. After a couple
of breaks on each side, Rybakina was more effective in the moment of greatest
pressure, as she saved two break points and then secured a break on her first
opportunity.
With the
advantage in her hands, Rybakina had two match points on Stearns' serve but had
to wait until her own service game to seal the victory by 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. In the
third round, she will face the local
Taylor Townsend (No. 72), who came through
the qualifiers and surprised the 25th seed Elise Mertens with a convincing 6-2,
6-2 victory.
