Three-time Miami Open champ Victoria Azarenka advances to face No. 1 Ash Barty

Victoria Azarenka and Angelique Kerber, two former bests in women’s tennis, challenged each other Saturday for the privilege to face off against current world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the next round of the Miami Open.

History told the tale as the 14th-seeded Azarenka, a three-time Miami Open past champion, advanced with a 7-5, 6-2 third round win over the 24th-seeded Kerber.

It was Azarenka’s ninth victory in 10 career matches played against the German. The only time Kerber toppled Azarenka was in the 2016 Australian Open quarterfinal, which was en route to her winning the first of her three Grand Slam trophies.

Azarenka went into the third-round match against Kerber without having hit a ball in competition this week. A two-time Australian Open champion, Azarenka had a first round bye and a walkover in the second round.

The Belarusian initially trailed Kerber 4-1 in the first set, but from that point on controlled the match.

“When things weren’t really working out in the beginning for me, I felt that I was looking for the right approach, trying to find my rhythm, so I think that’s what I’m the most proud of today,” Azarenka said.

Azarenka is no stranger to Barty as the two have played doubles together in the past, even reaching the 2019 U.S. Open women’s doubles final. They are 1-1 in singles matches played against each other.

“She’s a very talented player,” Azarenka said of Barty. “I always have been a huge fan of her game and the way she plays. She has a lot of variety. She has pretty much every single shot there is.”

The defending champion, Barty seems to have recuperated from her nearly 50-hour journey to Miami, which included two canceled flights. This marks Barty’s first time playing outside of Australia since February 2020.

“I think the whole world has had this enormous adjustment to the way that we live, obviously with the circumstances that we are in,” said Barty, addressing the COVID pandemic. “Traveling was certainly bizarre, without a doubt. The airports, I have never seen them quite like that before.”

Barty was much improved on court Saturday as she rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 third round win over Jelena Ostapenko. She struggled in her opening match Thursday, having to save a match point before defeating qualifier Kristina Kucova 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.

Against Ostapenko, Barty hit the ball cleanly, and capably balanced patrolling the entire court while keeping Ostapenko unsteady with her own game.

“The goal today was to try to bring the tennis back to my kind of tempo and my kind of rhythm as often as possible and as quickly as possible in points,” Barty said.

Now that Covid safety protocols are in place on tour, Barty and her coach, Craig Tyzzer, plan to stay abroad until after the U.S. Open in September, a decision driven by a mandatory two-week COVID hotel quarantine when entering Australia.

Third seed Simona Halep, another former No. 1, has had injuries dominate her season and the Miami Open is her latest tournament casualty.

A two-time Grand Slam champion, Halep cited a right shoulder injury as reason for her withdrawal Saturday from a scheduled third-round match against 57th-ranked Anastasija Sevastova.

“I’m very sorry I have to pull out of singles and doubles at the Miami Open, but my injury doesn’t let me play here as I expected,” Halep said. “I wanted to come here to give my best and play many matches but unfortunately I can’t. Hopefully, next year I will be back healthy and better.”

Halep, who tested positive for COVID in October, withdrew from the recent Doha and Dubai tournaments with a back injury. In her last tournament played, she reached the Australian Open quarterfinals early last month.

In men’s action Saturday, second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, sporting an impressive 78 percent first-serve percentage, faced little resistance from lucky loser Damir Dzhumur while posting a 6-1, 6-4 second-round win.

Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion, upset 13th-seed Cristian Garin 3-6, 7-5 7-6 (7-5).