WTA Miami: Hsieh tops Wozniacki, Andreescu retires. Pliskova wins
The 27th seed Su-Wei Hsieh has extended her brilliant run in Miami so far, toppling the 13th seed and a former world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 in two hours and 13 minutes for the place in the quarters. Facing each other for the fifth time and the first since Kuala Lumpur in 2015, Hsieh grabbed the first win over the Dane, serving at 72% and having to play against only four break points. Caroline did score two breaks although that wasn't enough to keep her safe, losing 44% of the points behind the initial shot and suffering six breaks for another disappointing loss in 2019.
Su-Wei shifted into a higher gear from 3-2 down in the opener, claiming the last four games for a 6-3 and the momentum before the rest of the encounter, overpowering Wozniacki on both serve and return. Caroline was much more competitive in set number two, finding her range to open an early lead before Hsieh broke back in game six, leveling the score and playing well to reach the tie break where the pressure was on the Dane. A former Australian Open champion shook it away with ease, taking all seven points to secure the set in style and become the favorite before the decider.
Instead of that, Hsieh saved the best tennis for when it mattered the most, giving away four points on serve and breaking Wozniacki in games one and three to race towards the finish line and move into the last eight. There, Hsieh will play against Anett Kontaveit who had to stay on the court for only 56 minutes before a teenage sensation Bianca Andreescu was forced to retire while trailing 6-1, 2-0. The Indian Wells winner had to play a lot of challenging matches in the last couple of weeks and her shoulder couldn't hold up for another tough encounter, losing eight of the first nine games to end her misery and get some well-deserved rest ahead of Fed Cup tie against the Czech Republic.
Karolina Pliskova will not play for her country in that tie but she is through to the last eight here in Miami after a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Yulia Putintseva in two hours and 10 minutes. Pliskova struggled on the second serve a lot and Putintseva earned no less than 19 break points, converting six which turned out not to be enough in the end. The 5th seed managed to hang in there, scoring six breaks of her own and prevailing with a late one in the deciding set to hit the quarters. Yulia was off to a perfect start, opening a 5-0 lead with three breaks in a row and bringing the set home with a hold at 15 in game eight for a 6-2.
Trailing 2-1 in set number two, Pliskova raised her level and claimed five of the next six games, stealing Putintseva'a serve thrice in a row for a 6-3 and much better position before the start of the final set. There, she had an early advantage that Yulia erased with a break in game six, staying neck and neck with the better-ranked opponent until game 11 when Karolina broke at 15, saving a break point in the following game to cross the finish line first and stay on the title course. A teenager Marketa Vondrousova took down Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 27 minutes, losing serve twice but dominating on the return to grab five breaks from ten chances and march into the quarters, just like she did at Indian Wells earlier in March.
Dominating with her initial shot and groundstrokes, Marketa opened a 5-2 lead with a double break of serve in games one and seven, failing to serve out for the set at 5-3 before a hold at love in game ten for a 6-4. Three breaks of serve were enough for Vondrousova in set number two to control the pace and book her place in the last eight where she will face the fellow Czech Karolina Pliskova. In the Chinese derby, Qiang Wang took down Yafan Wang 7-5, 6-4 in an hour and 45 minutes, scoring the sixth win in seven matches against the compatriot, not playing against each other since 2016.
Yafan gave her best to stay in contention, taking a 4-3 lead in the opener before losing four out of the next five games to hand the set to Qiang. They traded breaks at the beginning of the second set and stayed close to each other until game ten when Qiang scored the crucial break that moved her into the quarters.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2FwuhBb
No comments