Swiatek, Andreeva, Raducanu move into third round at Miami Open

Iga Swiatek defeated Caroline Garcia for the second time in as many tournaments to reach the Miami Open third round.

The 23-year-old No. 2 seed rolled into the third round after overcoming a 3-1 deficit and save one set point (serving down 5-4) in the second set to record a 6-2,7-5 victory over Caroline Garcia and improved her record over the Frenchwoman to 6-1 overall.

“My energy level got down really fast,” she said in her on-court interview. “So I tried to wake myself up, keep the intensity from the first set, follow through and go for it,” Swiatek started after the match.

“The tactics was kind of the same, because our game styles are the same,” she said. “But for sure the way you play changes a bit. Yeah, I mean, the ball bounces lower here, for sure, and the air also is not that dynamic. I feel like I have to be ready for a little bit faster game and be even lower on my legs.

“But that’s going to be the case against every player, not only Caro. But I wouldn’t say there was much difference. The only difference is I let her come back to the game in the second set a little bit.”

The result made Swiatek the first player in the history of the WTA 1000 format (since 2009) to win 25 consecutive opening matches at this level, a streak that dates back to Cincinnati 2021, where she lost in the second round (after a first-round bye) to Ons Jabeur. In the Miami second round, she will next face No. 27 seed Elise Mertens, who delivered a succession of fine drop shots to defeat Peyton Stearns 6-4, 6-1.

Elsewhere, After her first-round bye, the 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva topped Veronika Kudermetova 6-0, 6-2 in her first match at the Miami Open presented by Itaú on Friday. And that is meant quite literally — this is her first appearance at the event.

There were tears in Emma Raducanu’s eyes after her 7-6 (6), 2-6, 7-6 (3) victory over No. 10-ranked Emma Navarro on Friday.

“Yeah, it was a lot of emotions when I won,” Raducanu told reporters in a post-match press conference. “I know I won the US Open, but I think having been through so much in the last few years, it’s like the wins now mean so much more,” Emma Raducanu told the press agter her victory.

The former US Open champion will next face American McCartney Kessler for a place in the round of 16.