Tennis: Americans progress in Miami as Rybakina overcomes determined Kalinskaya
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Jessica Pegula of the United States plays a backhand against Katherine Sebov of Canada.
PHOTO: AFP
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MIAMI – It was a battle of the United States against Canada on Thursday and it was the Americans who prevailed on home soil, securing straight-sets victories to book their spots in the third round of the Miami Open.
Third seed Jessica Pegula defeated qualifier Katherine Sebov 6-3, 6-1 and will next face fellow American Danielle Collins, while sixth seed Coco Gauff eased past Rebecca Marino 6-4, 6-3 to set up a battle with Russia’s Anastasia Potapova.
Pegula, a 2022 semi-finalist in Miami who lives about 40 minutes away from the tournament venue, converted five of her nine break-point opportunities and found her groove as her first career match against Sebov wore on.
“I just went out there and took care of business. I fought through some tricky moments in the first set but I started to free up after that,” she said.
The 29-year-old had a much easier time in the second set, where she broke early for a 2-0 lead and dropped just two points on serve the rest of the way.
Gauff, who resides in south-east Florida, also converted five of her nine break-point chances and twice came back from a break down in the second set.
“Playing at home is something I look forward to, but it’s also a little extra pressure because you know everybody wants you to do well.” she said.
Coco Gauff of the US shakes hands at the net with Rebecca Marino of Canada, after her straight-sets victory.
PHOTO: AFP
In other second-round action, Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, fresh off her triumph at Indian Wells, progressed with a hard-fought 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win over Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya.
If she lifts the title in Miami, she would become only the fifth woman to win the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments back-to-back, a feat known as the Sunshine Double given the tournaments’ locations in California and Florida.
Separately, Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk – beaten by Russian Potapova and left the court without shaking the hand of her opponent – said the WTA Tour has ignored a request to meet players from the war-torn nation.
“We wanted to have the meeting with the board and we didn’t get one. No reply, just silence,” said the 20-year-old, who did not go into details about the issues that they wished to discuss with the Women’s Tennis Association.
“Once we’re in the meeting, we can talk about it. Before the meeting, I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk about what we want to talk about.” REUTERS, AFP
