Miami Open: Anisimova Halts Andreeva's Streak, Raducanu Advances After Kessler's Retirement
Click to start listening
Synopsis
In a thrilling Miami Open third round, Amanda Anisimova ended Mirra Andreeva's 13-match winning streak with a 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-3 win. Emma Raducanu moved on after Kessler retired due to injury, marking Raducanu's first three-match winning streak since Wimbledon.
Key Takeaways
- Amanda Anisimova defeated Mirra Andreeva to end her winning streak.
- Emma Raducanu advanced after Kessler retired due to injury.
- Alexandra Eala upset Madison Keys, marking multiple historic achievements.
- Raducanu is on a three-match winning streak.
- Anisimova reached the Round of 16 for the first time.
Miami March 24 (NationPress) Amanda Anisimova brought an end to Mirra Andreeva's impressive 13-match winning streak with a thrilling 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-3 victory during the third round of the Miami Open.
Anisimova triumphed over World No. 6 Mirra Andreeva in a tough 2-hour, 49-minute contest, marking her 10th win against a Top-10 player in her career.
This third-round match featured the only two players who have claimed WTA 1000 titles this season. Anisimova was a remarkable unseeded champion at this year's initial WTA 1000 event, the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha.
Following that, it was Andreeva who shone in the next two WTA 1000 events, clinching victories in Dubai and Indian Wells consecutively. The 17-year-old was aiming to become the first teenager to achieve the Sunshine Double, as reported by the WTA.
Currently sitting at a career-high No. 17, the 23-year-old Anisimova has now reached the Round of 16 at her home event for the very first time.
Next, she will face Emma Raducanu for a place in the quarterfinals. The 2021 US Open champion Raducanu advanced after her opponent, McCartney Kessler, retired due to injury.
Raducanu was ahead 6-1, 3-0 when the match concluded in just 43 minutes due to Kessler's lower back injury.
This marks Raducanu's first instance of winning three straight matches at a WTA Tour or Grand Slam event since last summer’s competition at Wimbledon.
“I’m very pleased to be in this situation. It’s not how you typically wish to win, but I believe I maintained my focus throughout the match,” said Raducanu.
In another stunning upset, wild-card Alexandra Eala defeated fifth-seeded Madison Keys, the Australian Open champion, with a score of 6-4, 6-2.
Eala, who has trained at Rafael Nadal’s tennis academy in Mallorca since the age of 13, is the first Filipino to defeat a Top 10 player since 1990, the first from her nation to overcome a Grand Slam champion (this being her second triumph after vanquishing Jelena Ostapenko on Friday), and the first Filipino to reach a Masters 1000 Round of 16.
Keys, age 30, was riding the momentum of her best career run with a 19-2 record heading into Miami, but she had recently suffered a heavy 6-0, 6-1 semifinal defeat at the hands of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in Indian Wells – a player she had previously beaten in the Australian final.
Keys, who claimed her first major singles title at the Australian Open this year, was aiming for her tour-leading 20th win.
