WTA

Sabalenka marches into Miami Open fourth round, Andreescu continues run with Kenin win

By Sports Desk March 26, 2023

Aryna Sabalenka needed just 68 minutes to dispatch Marie Bouzkova 6-1 6-2 in Sunday's third round of the Miami Open.

Sabalenka hit 26 winners in the victory and now has 250 at WTA 1000 level for the season, representing one of only two female players with more than 200 in 2023.

The world number two, who is the top seed in the tournament after Iga Swiatek's withdrawal, has now won 19 of her past 21 matches, with her only losses in that span to Elena Rybakina and Barbora Krejcikova.

She will get the chance to avenge that loss to Krejcikova next after the Czech Republic representative knocked out hometown star Madison Keys 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.

Former French Open winner Krejcikova registered her 10th WTA 1000 level win against Keys, becoming only the second player to achieve that this season.

Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin fell 6-4 6-4 to Canada's Bianca Andreescu, who continued her strong run after previously knocking out seventh seed Maria Sakkari and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu.

In a serve-dominated match, 2019 US Open champion Andreescu sent down seven aces, maintaining 70 per cent first serve percentage.

Ninth seed and former Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic was eliminated 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 by 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who will take on Andreescu in the next round.

Marketa Vondrousova won her all-Czech matchup against 17th seed Karolina Pliskova, and their compatriot Petra Kvitova enjoyed a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) triumph over recent Monterrey Open champion Donna Vekic.

Romania's Sorana Cirstea made it seven wins from her past eight matches with a 7-5 6-1 result over Karolina Muchova, having knocked off fifth seed Caroline Garcia in the second round.

Varvara Gracheva ensured a strong day for the Russians with a 6-1 6-2 demolition of Magdalena Frech in a battle of two unseeded players.

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    Milan secured a top-four Serie A finish with a 1-0 win at Juventus as Olivier Giroud's header dealt a knockout blow to the Bianconeri's own hopes of Champions League qualification.

    Still reeling from their 10-point deduction and Monday's miserable 4-1 defeat at Empoli, Juve required a win at Allianz Stadium to take the top-four battle to the season's final matchday.

    However, the Bianconeri's lack of attacking thrust was on full display once again, with Giroud scoring the only goal of the game with an outstanding header as half-time approached on Sunday.

    The Rossoneri were comfortable from there as they ensured Juve's chaotic season will end on another sour note, piling more pressure on embattled head coach Massimiliano Allegri.

    Sandro Tonali headed Junior Messias' delivery over as Milan started brightly, but Juve soon improved, with Angel Di Maria failing to hook Moise Kean's cut-back home on the stretch.

    More Bianconeri chances came and went as Federico Chiesa hammered over and Kean worked Mike Maignan from distance, but Juve found themselves behind five minutes before half-time.

    Davide Calabria's hanging cross from the right was met with a textbook header from Giroud, who planted the ball beyond Wojciech Szczesny's despairing dive.

    Adrien Rabiot forced a comfortable save from Maignan as Juve toiled after the restart, failing to make any attacking headway without injured striker Dusan Vlahovic.

    Szczesny stuck out a leg to deny Alexis Saelemaekers and Rafael Leao fired over on the break, while Danilo had a close-range effort blocked in a goalmouth scramble as Juve's bid for Champions League football ended with a whimper.

    What does it mean? Milan profit from Juve woes

    When Juventus' 10-point deduction was confirmed earlier this week, Milan were the chief beneficiary after being propelled into the top four.

    Stefano Pioli's men were determined not to let that advantage slip here, the Rossoneri weathering the Juve storm midway through the first half and deserving the three points after Giroud's goal. 

    Milan thus completed just their third Serie A double over Juventus in the last 50 years, also doing so in the 1990-91 and 2009-10 campaigns.

    Giroud the man of the moment

    Giroud has so often been the man for the big occasion for both club and country, and he gave Szczesny no chance with a firm header just as Juventus looked to be in the ascendency.

    The 36-year-old striker has now scored 12 times in Serie A this season, his best return in one of Europe's top five leagues since he hit as many Premier League goals for Arsenal in the 2016-17 campaign.

    Fatal blow for Allegri?

    Allegri has faced stern criticism for most of the campaign, and the pressure may just become intolerable now they will finish outside of Italy's top four for the first time since 2010-11 (when they finished seventh).

    Having also fallen short in the Europa League semi-finals, the Bianconeri have suffered three successive defeats for the first time since doing so in 2011 under Luigi Delneri.

    What's next? 

    Milan wrap up their Serie A season against Verona next Sunday, while Juventus will be playing for a Europa League place when they visit Udinese on the same day.

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    The Blaugrana signed off from their famous stadium in style, with Gavi also netting in a comfortable win over their 10-men visitors on Sunday.

    In what was their final home game at their iconic ground before a temporary move to facilitate a lengthy renovation, Xavi's side ensured they bade it a fitting goodbye.

    After losses against Real Sociedad and Real Valladolid, it also marked an impressive return to form.

    Barca needed less than a minute to carve open their visitors, with Fati tucking away a Gavi cutback following a neat Robert Lewandowski ball into the box.

    Matters soon worsened for Mallorca, when Amath Ndiaye saw his yellow card upgraded to a red by VAR for a shocking foul on Alejandro Balde.

    Fati doubled his tally after that with a close-range rocket off Lewandowski's deft one-touch set-up, and Barca never looked like losing control from there on out.

    Mallorca dug their heels in, but even then remained under siege, with Jules Kounde hitting the bar with a header shortly after the restart.

    Lewandowski crashed a free-kick against the woodwork too, but Barca finally found their third when Gavi lashed a low finish beyond Dominik Greif.

    There were standing ovations for Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets on their final home appearances, with the Camp Nou crowd rising to salute the club legends.

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    Fifth seed Tsitsipas saved all of them, though, before clinching a 7-5 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7) victory and roaring with relief.

    The Greek knows he will need to play better going forward, saying: “It was a great comeback from me on that tie-breaker. I didn’t really play the way I wanted to play.

    “I started just going more to the ball, being much more aggressive on my shot-making, and I kind of dictated a little bit better. The match was very inconsistent from my side. I felt like I haven’t played a match with so much inconsistency in a very long time.

    “There weren’t a lot of rallies in play. He was serving big, so I had to find ways to change that. At times I felt like my footwork was lousy.

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    “I had a practice session with Carlitos the other day and did throw in a ‘thank you’ just randomly, and I don’t know if he understood that or not,” said Tsitsipas.

    “I owe a lot to Carlitos because he’s such a breath of fresh air. He’s so competitive and he’s always with a smile on his face, and so much charisma to him and so much positive energy that he distributes.

    “I think that’s contributed a lot to his growth as a tennis player and his consistency, too. I admire him for who he is. I have that capacity of being that person. I truly believe that.”

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    Hubert Hurkacz also survived a five-setter against David Goffin while 24th seed Sebastian Korda saw off fellow American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4 7-5 6-4.

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