Miami: World No.1 Iga Swiatek held her nerve to beat Czech No. 26 Linda Nosková 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 6-4 at the WTA Miami Open on Sunday.
A day after Swiatek’s nearest challenger Aryna Sabalenkova crashed out of the tournament, the Pole faced a real test from Noskova.
The Czech upset Swiatek in the third round of the Australian Open before the four-time Grand Slam winner got revenge in Indian Wells.
The pair’s third meeting this year was, not surprisingly, close.
After working hard to recover from an opening-set tie-break loss to take the match to a deciding frame, Swiatek found herself facing three break points on serve for the match at 5-4.
But she stepped up her game to win another five points and celebrated with a fist-pumping gesture on her box.
Swiatek will face 14th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the round of 16 on Monday. Alexandrova cruised to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
France’s Caroline Garcia advanced to a fourth-round match against world number three Coco Gauff with a 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 win over Naomi Osaka on Sunday.
It was a tough match, with the pair sharing 28 aces, and Osaka had to fight to take the first set to a tie-break, saving three set points.
Garcia secured the tie-break with a forehand winner but found herself trailing Osaka 4-2 in the second before breaking back.
With Osaka serving at all 5, Garcia forced two break points and converted the second.
Reigning US Open champion Gauff trailed 4-2 in the first set to France’s Ocean Dodin before winning 10 straight games to run out 6-4, 6-0 winners.
Gauff said she expected a tough match against Garcia.
“She’s tough. We all know how she plays. She takes the ball very early, plays very aggressively,” she said.
Fifth-seeded American Jessica Pegula defeated Canadian Leylah Fernandez 7:5, 6:4 and set herself up for a clash with compatriot Emma Navarro in the fourth round.
Fernandez raced to a 5-3 lead in the first set, but Pegula responded perfectly, winning four straight games to take the set, bringing the crowd to their feet with a backhand down the line winner to clinch the set.
Both players struggled to hold serve in the second set, the first seven games going against serve, but Pegula eventually held for a 5-3 lead and held the final game to love to secure the win.
Top-seeded American Pegula will face the rising star of American women’s tennis in Navarre, who upset 12th-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 3-6, 6-0.
Paolini, who won the WTA 1000 series event in Dubai earlier this year, faded after fighting back in the second set, while Navarro confirmed her status as one of the most improving players on the tour.
With her 20th match win of the season, a record surpassed only by Swiatek, Navarro is enjoying the most successful campaign of her career, winning her first WTA title in Hobart in January.
Pegula said the belief that comes from such a run of results will make her a tough opponent.
“The feeling of winning a lot of matches, it’s really hard to beat guys like that, and even when you beat them, it’s never easy,” she said.
“It’s going to be a really good test for me to see where I’m at because she’s probably one of the hottest players on tour right now.
The rise of the 20th seed has impressed Gauff.
“It doesn’t surprise me that she’s in the top 20, honestly. I’d say (more) maybe how quickly, it happened so quickly. But when we played in the juniors, she always played all-around.
“She’s a great athlete. She’s a very smart player, she gives the best players trouble. She’s not someone you want to see early in the tournament,” Gauff said.
