TENNIS – Italian Flavia Pennetta, 2014 Indian Wells champion, needed two breaks of serve to overcome twice Miami champion Vika Azarenka in a hard-fought match with 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (8-6): Pennetta scored her second win over a former World Number 1 after beating Maria Sharapova two weeks ago at Indian Wells. Pennetta has reached the Round of 16 in Miami for the first time in her career. Diego Sampaolo
Pennetta will take on Simona Halep who beat Camila Giorgi 6-4 7-5 to get through to the fourth round of the Miami Open for the first time in his career. Pennetta leads 3-0 over Halep in their previous head-to-head matches but they have not met since 2013.
Pennetta was broken in the opening game of the first set but she recovered from 15-40 on Azarenka’s serve to break back. The match went on serve until the seventh game when Pennetta had to face two break points. The Italian player saved them with two winners before breaking to love with four winners. On the crucial moment of the match Pennetta saved two break points but then she committed two double faults to drop the game. Azarenka won three consecutive games. After dropping serve in the 11th game Pennetta found the strength to bounce back by breaking back with a down-the-line winner. The two players traded mini-breaks in the tie-break before Pennetta clinched it with 7-5 to the delight of the fans from the Italian community.
The second set went on serve until 3-3 apart from a break point which Pennetta did not convert. The tennis player from Brindisi hit three winners to go up 40-0 on Azarenka’s service game and managed to break. Azarenka broke back to 15. The second tie-break featured a lot of mini-breaks as in the first set. Pennetta clinched the set with 8-6
Indian Wells champion Halep was serving for the match at 6-4 5-4 when she was broken. Giorgi led 30-0 at 5-5 but Halep reeled off eight of the next points to seal the win in the straight sets. The Romanian player reached her previous best result in Miami in 2012 and 2013 when she advanced to the third round.
Giorgi held her first two service games without committing any double faults. The Italian dropped her serve in the first game after committing three double faults and a forehand error but broke straight back in the sixth game at her first break point opportunity. Halep broke again in the ninth game before holding serve to close out 6-4 in the tenth game.
Halep broke at the start of the second set but Giorgi was able to break back. Giorgi dropped serve again in the fifth game as in the first set after three double faults. Giorgi broke back in the eighth game for 4-4. Halep broke to love for 5-4 but in a roller-coaster of emotions Giorgi broke back to love for 5-5. In the 11th game Giorgi went up 30-0 but Halep recovered by reeling off eight consecutive points to clinch the win. Giorgi made 11 unforced errors and won 43 percent of her first serve points.
Serena Williams cruised past Cici Bellis 6-1 6-1 in a one-sided match between the seven-time Miami champion and the youngest player to win a match at the US Open.
Sara Errani was the second Italian to reach the Round of 16. She fought back from a et down to overcome Garbine Muguruza with 4-6 6-4 6-1. Muguruza recovered from a early deficit by winning four consecutive games to win the first set with 6-4. Errani capitalized on a early break in the third game. Muguruza did not convert on her break point at 3-2 and Errani sealed the second set with 6-4. After a trade of breaks in the first two games of the decider Errani broke serve for the second time in the set in the third game. Muguruza could not recover the break in the next game. Errani broke again and closed out holding her serve to love.
Errani will take on Sabine Lisicki who confirmed her good period of form by upsetting Ana Ivanovic 7-6 (7-4) 7-5. The German fought back from an early break down to clinch the first set at the tie-break before recovering from 1-4 down to take the win in straight sets.
Swiss teenage rising star Belinda Bencic beat German Tatiana Maria 6-4 7-5. The first set was decided by a break from Bencic in the first game of the match. Bencic never faced any break point chance and closed out the first set with 6-4. Bencic got a break in the second set but was broken back as she served for the match. Bencic recovered and broke back to clinch the win with 7-5
Bencic will face Sloane Stephens who scored her first win in three matches against Johanna Larson with 6-4 6-4.
