Halep survives Garcia, Kvitova cruises through in Miami

It was a day of early round scares in Florida, as Simona Halep was forced to rally from a set down before booking her spot in the next round of the Miami Open.

The third seed overcame a tough test from Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, fighting back from a set deficit to prevail 3-6 6-4 6-0 in an hour and 48 minutes. Garcia required only a single break opportunity at 3-2 in the first set to break the Romanian's serve, before holding and surprising everyone with a one-set lead.

It looked like Halep was in danger of an early exit after she dropped serve to open the second set, as Garcia was playing more aggressively and with confidence. However, the World No.3 fought back, employing her defensive prowess and shot-placement to break Garcia twice before claiming the second set.

With momentum on her side, the two-time Grand Slam champion ran away with the final set. She awaits the winner between American Coco Gauff and Latvian Anastasija Sevastova, who will battle for a place in the next round.

Another Grand Slam champion was in action late Thursday, as 2014 Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova took on France's Alize Cornet. The ninth seed completely dominated the first set, breaking Cornet to love on three occasions.

After taking the first set 6-0, Kvitova took her foot off the gas as her French opponent finally got on the scoreboard. Despite getting a break back, Cornet was unable to prevent the onslaught from the Czech superstar, who prevailed 6-0 6-4 after just over an hour.

Kvitova will face Great Britain's Jo Konta in the next round, as the 17th seed defeated Magda Linette 6-4 7-5 earlier in the day.

Click here for live scores and results from Miami.