Serena Williams showed there would be no letting up in her relentless pursuit of tennis history as she hit the practice courts with one of the biggest names on the men's tour.
A semi-final defeat to Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open was the latest blow for Williams in her attempt to match Margaret Court's record of 24 grand slam titles.
Stuck on 23 since winning at Melbourne Park in 2017, Williams has gone repeatedly close in the subsequent years without getting her hands on a major trophy.
She took to the courts with Bulgarian ace Grigor Dimitrov, a beaten quarter-finalist in Australia and former world number three, as part of her continuing bid to keep improving and stay focused on those title goals.
Dimitrov could not resist boasting about the prowess of the player he was hitting with, posting a video of their session and writing on Instagram: "My practice partner is better than yours."
He added a goat emoji, signalling his belief that Williams is the greatest of all time.
Williams gestured a fond goodbye to the Australian Open crowds after her loss to Osaka, and became tearful in an after-match news conference when asked if it was a final farewell.
"I don't know. If I ever say farewell, I wouldn't tell anyone," said the 39-year-old.
Her next appearance on tour is expected to be at the Miami Open, starting on March 23, a tournament which has confirmed Williams, Osaka, Bianca Andreescu and Simona Halep among its field.
There was a little sibling envy from Venus Williams on Sunday when she questioned where Serena and Dimitrov were rallying.
"Omg are you guys hitting now? Where is my invite??" Venus wrote.
The next grand slam on the calendar is the French Open, beginning on May 23, while Serena may see Wimbledon, beginning on June 28, as providing her best chance of another slam.
She has won seven times at the All England Club, two behind the record held by Martina Navratilova.
Kvitova triumphs in Miami Open to dash Rybakina's Sunshine Double hopes
Elena Rybakina's superb run in the United States was ended by Petra Kvitova, who won 7-6 (16-14) 6-2 to clinch the Miami Open title.
Two-time grand slam champion Kvitova, 33, became the second-oldest Miami champion, denying young gun Rybakina a Sunshine Double in the process.
Rybakina, fresh from her triumph at the Indian Wells Open, has been in stunning form but could not find her groove on Saturday.
After clinching the first set following a marathon tie-break, Kvitova took momentum into the second, cruising into a 5-2 lead before sealing the win with a break – Rybakina sending a forehand long.
Kvitova equalled Simona Halep as the players with the third-most WTA 1000 titles (nine), with only Serena Williams (13) and Victoria Azarenka (10) having won more since 2009.
"It feels unbelievable. I'm 33, and it's my 30th title, so I'm very happy," Kvitova told Amazon Prime Sport.
"I didn't think, that was the key. Elena didn't lose a tie-break [this season]. I thought, well, she has to lose at some time. I had to be a bit more aggressive, it was a bit of a struggle. I was a bit nervous, yes.
"I would have laughed [if someone told me I was going to win] but it feels great for sure. Nobody expected this, not me, not my team. I'm happy I'm injury free and, oh my God, I made it."
Kvitova is the second woman to win the singles title in Miami after turning 33, following Serena Williams in 2015.
Indeed, only Serena Williams (68), Justine Henin (42), Venus Williams (40), Kim Clijsters (40) and Maria Sharapova (36) have more WTA singles title to their name in the 21st century than the Czech.
Rybakina, meanwhile, will lament the chance of a Sunshine Double going begging.
The 23-year-old is the fourth player to fail to win the Sunshine Double in Miami's final after Serena Williams (1999), Lindsay Davenport (2000) and Sharapova (2006 and 2013).
"I want to congratulate Petra for a great two weeks here in Miami, and good luck for the rest of the year," said Rybakina. "Thank you to my team, we'll keep going."
Sinner snaps Alcaraz's win streak, books Miami Open final against Medvedev
Jannik Sinner is through to the Miami Open decider after eliminating world number one Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-2 in Friday's semi-final.
Sinner, 21, has enjoyed a terrific start to 2023. Since the beginning of the Australian Open, the Italian has only lost three matches – to Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Alcaraz.
He avenged his defeat to Tsitsipas with a straight sets win at the Rotterdam Open, and he has now got one back on Alcaraz after their three-hour war of attrition.
Both players created exactly 12 break point opportunities, and Sinner's 26 unforced errors were only one less than Alcaraz's 27, but the Spanish 19-year-old committed an uncharacteristic nine double faults. The loss snapped Alcaraz's 10-match winning streak.
The victory gives Sinner his second appearance in the Miami Open final after losing the 2021 edition to Hubert Hurkacz, and he now joins Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as the only players to ever reach the final here twice before turning 22.
Sinner will get a chance to avenge his only other loss this year in the final after Daniil Medvedev booked his spot with a 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-3 victory over Russian compatriot Karen Khachanov.
Incredibly, Khachanov lost despite hitting 53 winners and only 11 unforced errors, and he ended up edging the total point count 93-88, but he could only convert two of his six break point opportunities, while Medvedev converted two out of four.
The win means Medvedev is the first player since Roger Federer in 2019 to reach the final of both the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open in the same season, and he is the first since Federer in 2006 to reach five ATP finals before the clay court season begins.
Kvitova defeats Cirstea to join Rybakina in the Miami Open final
Petra Kvitova is through to her 41st WTA singles final after defeating Sorana Cirstea 7-5 6-4 in Friday's Miami Open semi-final.
Kvitova, 33, already has 29 singles titles under her belt, including eight at the WTA 1000 level. Despite showing she can still compete with the best – making the final at the 2019 Dubai Championships, the 2020 Qatar Open and the 2022 Cincinnati Open, her last WTA 1000 victory came at the 2018 Madrid Open.
Against Romania's Cirstea – who came into the contest with nine wins from her past 10 matches – Czech veteran Kvitova was put on the back foot early as her serve was broken to go 5-2 down.
But she saved two set points, and used that momentum to ignite a run of seven consecutive games, taking the first set and the early break in the second as a result.
Kvitova did not allow Cirstea to produce a single break point opportunity in the second set, winning 75 per cent (21-of-28) of her total service points to slam the door shut.
With the win, Kvitova joined Chris Evert and Serena Williams as the only women to ever reach the Miami Open final after turning 33 years old, booking her place against the hottest talent on the tour – Elena Rybakina – in the decider.
Rybakina has won her past 13 matches, and is looking to become the fifth woman to ever complete the Sunshine Double after eliminating both world number one Iga Swiatek and world number two Aryna Sabalenka to lift the Indian Wells Open title.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
