WTA Miami: Su-Wei Hsieh sends Naomi Osaka packing! Kvitova survives Vekic
The world no. 1 and the two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka had won 63 straight matches on the Tour after taking the opening set but that amazing streak ended on Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, with Su-Wei Hsieh beating the Japanese 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 in two hours and 18 minutes! The 27th seed gave her best to stay in touch with the US Open and the Australian Open champion, prevailing in the second set tie break and taking six out of the last seven games for one of her best wins ever at the age of 33! Su-Wei fought off eight out of 12 break points she faced, staying focused at 4-6, 3-5 to produce a comeback in the very last moment and give herself a chance to battle for the win and the place in the fourth round.
Naomi was in all kind of troubles from the very first exchanges, trailing 4-1 before winning five straight games to steal the opener 6-4. The Japanese held everything under control after an early break in set number two, saving a break point in game eight to move 5-3 up and put Hsieh on the verge of the defeat. A player from the Chinese Taipei never stopped believing, breaking back in game ten to gain the momentum and clinching the tie break 7-4 to force a decider and send the pressure to the other side of the net. Naomi bounced back with a break at the start of the final set although it wasn't to be for her, dropping serve three times in the rest of the match to hand Hsieh six of the last seven games and bow out on the second obstacle in Miami.
Ashleigh Barty took down the fellow Aussie Samantha Stosur 6-0, 6-3 in 58 minutes, losing serve once and overpowering the veteran completely on the return, taking 60% of those points for five breaks of serve and a dominant run that propelled her into the last 16. The 19th seed Caroline Garcia defeated the 15th seed Julia Goerges 6-0, 7-5 in 80 minutes, having the upper hand in the opener and working harder in set number two where she saved four break points at 5-5, breaking Goerges in the last game of the match to wrap the things up and move on.
The 3rd seed Petra Kvitova outplayed the 26th seed Donna Vekic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 after grueling two hours and 35 minutes, with 34 break points up for grabs! Both players scored five breaks and the deciding set offered just one, in the very first game when the Czech seized the crucial advantage that she carried throughout the set and booked the place in the last 16 where she will face Garcia.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2HSmMr9
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