Iga Swiatek crashed out of the Miami Open second spherical Thursday as 50th-ranked fellow Pole Magda Linette fought again for a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over the six-time Grand Slam champion.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Swiatek, who received the Miami Open in 2022, suffered her first opening loss at a match because the 2021 WTA Finals.
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It’s simply the most recent disappointment for Swiatek, who was eradicated within the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and within the WTA 1000 occasions in Doha and Indian Wells.
Although she was seeded second within the elite mixed ATP and WTA hardcourt match in Miami, Swiatek dropped this week to 3rd on the earth as Indian Wells finalist Elena Rybakina moved up behind top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka.
Swiatek’s compatriot Linette needed to dig deep after Swiatek — who received their final encounter 6-1, 6-1 — raced by means of the opening set in 33 minutes.
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But she caught to her weapons and Swiatek double-faulted to offer Linette two break factors within the twelfth recreation of the second set, Linette forcing a 3rd set with a return winner.
“I just had to go for a little bit more,” Linette advised Tennis Channel. “I had to start hitting a little bit faster, too, to push her a little bit more back, not give her space.
“But I feel it began with serving a bit higher,” she added.
Swiatek didn’t go meekly, saving a pair of match points on her own serve in the eighth game of the third and two more as Linette served for the match, before Linette sealed the win as Swiatek sent a backhand wide.
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“She truly will get actually good on these break factors down, match factors down,” Linette said. “She begins swinging. I simply knew I needed to keep robust on my serve.”
Linette advanced to a third-round matchup against 20-year-old Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, a 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 6-3 winner over Germany’s Laura Siegemund.
“It actually was shut,” said Eala, a surprise semi-finalist last year who needed three hours and 20 minutes to close out the victory.
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“It was demanding, bodily and mentally. But that was one among my objectives final 12 months after the match, to enhance bodily, and right here I’m contemporary as a flower.”
It was the longest WTA career match for 29th-ranked Eala, who beat Swiatek in last year’s Miami Open quarter-finals for the biggest win of her career before losing to American Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals.
Former world number one Venus Williams, 45, lost her first-round match to Britain’s Francesca Jones 7-5, 7-5 after one hour and 51 minutes.
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Jones advanced to a second-round match against fifth seed Pegula, last year’s Miami runner-up to Sabalenka.
– Fonseca books Alcaraz clash –
On the men’s side 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca outlasted Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, to book a second-round match with world number one Carlos Alcaraz.
Fonseca, ranked 39th, was strongly backed by Brazilian fans as he booked a first-ever meeting with Alcaraz and his second marquee contest in as many tournaments after falling to Jannik Sinner at Indian Wells last week.
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French 17-year-old Moise Kouame beat qualifier Zachary Svajda 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to become the youngest player to claim an ATP Masters 1000 victory since Rafael Nadal in Hamburg in 2003.
Kouame, who received a wild card invitation, next faces 21st seed Jiri Lehecka of Czech Republic.
Kouame, who battled through cramping late in the match, was thrilled to receive a message of congratulations from his idol Novak Djokovic.
“He texted me one thing actually, very nice,” Kouame said. “I do not know the way I’m going to reply. Hopefully I can meet him… it will likely be my dream.”
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