Miami Open: Composed Osaka eases through; Kyrgios firepower too much for Mannarino

The
three-time
grand
slam
champion,
who
was
left
in
tears
as
she
struggled
to
deal
with
a
heckler
during
her
second-round
defeat
to
Veronika
Kudermetova
at
Indian
Wells,
produced
a
composed
display
in
South
Florida
to
see
off
Astra
Sharma
6-3
6-4.

Needing
an
hour
and
20
minutes
to
defeat
her
Australian
opponent,
Osaka
secured
her
50th
WTA
1000
win,
one
that
sets
up
a
battle
of
two
former
world
number
ones.

Osaka
will
next
face
Angelique
Kerber,
having
kept
her
cool
against
Sharma
despite
converting
just
two
of
11
break
point
opportunities
and
squandering
three
match
points.

“I
didn’t
want
to
let
anything
bother
me,
no
matter
what
happened,”
Osaka
said.

“The
last
match
I
played
was
not
the
greatest
memory
for
me.
I
wanted
to
prove
that
I
could
come
back
out
here
and
compete,
and
no
matter
if
I
won
or
lost,
to
just
know
that
I
had
the
best
attitude
I
could.”

Kerber
promises
to
prove
a
much
sterner
test
for
Osaka,
who
has
lost
her
last
four
matches
against
the
German,
having
won
their
first
encounter
at
the
2017
US
Open.

Osaka’s
Japanese
compatriot
Misaki
Doi
crashed
out
in
a
straight-sets
defeat
to
Vera
Zvonareva,
while
promising
teenager
Clara
Tauson
retired
in
the
third
set
of
her
match
with
Zhang
Shuai.

Madison
Brengle
was
among
those
to
progress
on
Wednesday
(March
23),
continuing
the
theme
of
early
American
success.

Kyrgios
continues
impressive
run

Nick
Kyrgios
maintained
his
impressive
form
from
Indian
Wells
to
prevail
in
his
first-round
match
with
Adrian
Mannarino
at
the
Miami
Open.

Former
world
number
13
Kyrgios
is
ranked
outside
the
top
100,
but
delivered
a
reminder
of
his
quality
at
Indian
Wells
by
reaching
the
quarter-finals.

He
claimed
a
top-10
win
over
Casper
Ruud
before
losing
to
Rafael
Nadal
in
three
sets,
and
the
Australian
will
now
face
Andrey
Rublev
in
South
Florida
after
seeing
off
Mannarino
in
straight
sets.

Kyrgios
took
the
first
in
a
tie-break
and
broke
the
Mannarino
serve
late
in
the
second
to
clinch
a
7-6
(7-3)
6-3
win.

There
was
a
huge
disparity
in
the
winner
count,
Kyrgios
hitting
33
to
Mannarino’s
15,
and
it
was
that
extra
firepower
that
made
the
difference
in
the
closing
stages.

A
fine
backhand
winner
gave
Kyrgios
break
point,
which
he
converted
with
a
confident
forehand
at
the
end
of
an
absorbing
rally
to
take
a
5-3
lead.
The
break
was
then
consolidated
as
Kyrgios
sealed
his
triumph
with
an
ace
down
the
middle.

Also
into
the
second
round
is
Jack
Draper,
who
overcame
Gilles
Simon
to
claim
his
first
ATP
Masters
1000
win
and
set
up
an
all-British
clash
with
Cameron
Norrie.

Brandon
Nakashima
will
meet
American
compatriot
Frances
Tiafoe
after
his
first
main-draw
win
in
Miami
over
Soonwoo
Kwon.

Thanasi
Kokkinakis
beat
Richard
Gasquet
in
straight
sets
while
there
were
also
wins
for
David
Goffin
and
Borna
Coric.