The tension spiked through the roof on the opening day of action in the main draw of the
WTA Miami Open. The last match of the night saw
Katerina Siniakova take on
Camila Osorio. It would be the Colombian who would progress with a 6-1, 6-4 victory, but it was not all smiles at the end when she was met by a steaming Siniakova.
The Czech had come off a hugely positive week at Indian Wells. Winning the doubles tournamanet alongside Taylor Townsend, she reached the last-16 of the singles before retiring against Elina Svitolina when 6-1, 1-1 down. Just before this, she had defeated the reigning champion, Mirra Andreeva. She was hoping to keep that form up on the other side of the country.
The tennis roadshow has traversed from California to Florida with the
Miami Open the last piece of action to conclude the Sunshine swing. It is a last chance for players to capitalise on the American hardcourts until August with a couple of months on clay in store in the build-up to Roland Garros.
Siniakova leaves the court raging
It took just 28 minutes for Osorio to clinch the first set. The
world number 58 was on the right end of three consecutive breaks as she went 4-1 in front before sealing a double break advantage. Surviving a break point in what would ultimately be the final game of the first set, she wrapped it up clinically to take a huge step towards the second round.
It would be Siniakova who had looked to take authority in the second set. A break of the Osorio serve left her 4-2 ahead with a clear path to taking the set. This proved not to be the case. Osorio upped the gears, losing just two more points all match as she won the remaining four games in ruthless fashion to send the Czech tumbling out of the competition with a whimper.
She was in no mood to be waiting around, jumping to her feet as Osorio approached to embrace her defeated opponent. Siniakova offered her a firm handshake at the end of the court before storming away from her. She shook the umpire's hand as Osorio followed in suit, at a much slower pace.
Osorio again tried to muster something out of Siniakova, but she was having none of it. Completely ignoring her, she marched off without even glancing at Osorio with her bag as she looked to get out of there. Pictured as an emotional figure, she was crying as she left the court, marking a sour end to proceedings in the opening day of action.
A possible all-Czech matchup was briefly on the cards, but that will not turn out to be the case with Osorio now setting up a tie against the Qatar Open champion Karolina Muchova.