The game was very balanced from the first set to the end. When the score was 0:1, Grabher was able to fend off a breakball from Liu and equalize to make it 1:1. After that, it took until the last game before a player found another break chance. The American had this again, taking the service from the Vorarlberg player to win the set 6: 4. In the second round, an early break was enough for Liu to take a 2-0 lead to set the course for victory. She scored her first match point after 1:18 hours.
Grabher slipped into the main competition as a “lucky loser” and also benefited from a walk-through thanks to a rib injury to world number one Iga Swiatek. The 94th best Austrian in the WTA ranking failed on Monday in the second qualifying round against the Czech Teresa Martincova in three sets.
The 22-year-old Liu, ranked 59th in the world, benefited from the resignation of her Czech opponent Katerina Siniakova in the first round with a score of 3:6 3:3. Her opponent in the third round is either the 25th-seeded Italian Martina Trevisan or Japan’s Nao Hibino.
WTA 1000 tournament in Miami
(US, $8.8m, hard)
| Second round tableau: |
| Claire Liu (USA) | Julia Grabher (AUT) | 6:4 6:3 |
| Martina Trevisan (ITA/25) | Non-Hibino (JPN) | -:- -:- |
| Yelena Ostapenko (YEARS/24) | Mirjam Björklund (SWE) | 6:3 6:4 |
| Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA/13) | Tereza Martincova (CZE) | 7:6 (7/4) 0:6 6:0 |
| Jelena Rybakina (KAZ/10) | Anna Kalinskaya (RUS) | -:- -:- |
| Paula Badosa (ESP/21) | Laura Siegemund (GER) | 7:6 (7/2) 4:6 6:2 |
| Petra Martic (CRO/29) | Wang Xiyu (CHN) | 6:3 6:3 |
| Elise Mertens (BEL) | Darja Kasatkina (RUS/8) | 4:6 6:2 6:2 |
| Jessica Pegula (USA/3) | Katherine Sebov (CAN) | 6:3 6:1 |
| Danielle Collins (USA/30) | Viktoria Tomowa (BUL) | 7:6 (7/3) 6:2 |
| Magda Linette (POL/20) | Jewgenia Rodina (RUS) | -:- -:- |
| Viktoria Asarenka (BLR/14) | Camila Giorgi (ITA) | -:- -:- |
| Lyudmila Samsonowa (RUS/12) | Viktorija Golubic (SUI) | 6:1 6:1 |
| Zheng Qinwen (CHN/23) | Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) | 2:6 6:1 6:1 |
| Anastasia Potapowa (RUS/27) | Marta Kostjuk (UKR) | 6:1 6:3 |
| Coco Gauff (USA/6) | Rebecca Marino (CAN) | 6:4 6:3 |
| Maria Sakkari (GRE/7) | Bianca Andreescu (CAN) | -:- -:- |
| Anhelina Kalinina (UKR/28) | Sofia Kenin (USA) | -:- -:- |
| Yekaterina Alexandrova (RUS/18) | Taylor Townsend (USA) | -:- -:- |
| Belinda Bencic (SUI/9) | Leylah Fernandez (CAN) | -:- -:- |
| Petra Kvitova (JUN/5) | Linda Noskova (CZE) | -:- -:- |
| Donna Vekic (CRO/22) | Madison Brengle (USA) | -:- -:- |
| Zhang Shuai (CHN/26) | Erika Andrejewa (RUS) | -:- -:- |
| Ounce Jabeur (TUN/4) | Solvara Gratscheva (RUS) | -:- -:- |
| Caroline Garcia (FRA/5) | Sorana Cirstea (ROU) | -:- -:- |
| Zhu Lin (CHN/32) | Karolina Muchova (CZE) | -:- -:- |
| Karolina Pliskova (JUN/17) | Wang Xinyu (CHN) | -:- -:- |
| Veronika Kudermetowa (RUS/11) | Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) | -:- -:- |
| Barbora Krejcikova (JUN/16) | Alexandra Sasnowitsch (BLR) | -:- -:- |
| Madison Keys (USA/19) | Robin Montgomery (USA) | -:- -:- |
| Marie Bouzkova (JUN/31) | Anna Blinkova (RUS) | -:- -:- |
| Arina Sabalenka (BLR/2) | Shelby Rogers (USA) | -:- -:- |
| Erstrundentableau: |
| Julia Grabher (AUT/LL)* | | bye |
| Claire Liu (USA) | Katerina Siniakova (CZE) | 3:6 3:3 ret. |
| Non-Hibino (JPN) | Danka Kovinic | 6:3 6:3 |
| Martina Trevisan (ITA/25) | | bye |
| Yelena Ostapenko (YEARS/24) | | bye |
| Mirjam Björklund (SWE) | Jasmine Paolini (ITA) | 4:6 6:4 6:4 |
| Tereza Martincova (CZE) | Tamara Korpatsch (GER) | 4:6 6:4 6:3 |
| Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA/13) | | bye |
| Jelena Rybakina (KAZ/10) | | bye |
| Anna Kalinskaya (RUS) | Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (AND) | 6:4 6:2 |
| Laura Siegemund (GER) | Mayar Sherif (ONE) | 6:3 6:4 |
| Paula Badosa (ESP/21) | | bye |
| Petra Martic (CRO/29) | | bye |
| Wang Xiyu (CHN) | Brenda Fruhvirtova (CZE) | 6:0 7:5 |
| Elise Mertens (BEL) | Alycia Parks (USA) | 6:1 6:4 |
| Darja Kasatkina (RUS/8) | | bye |
| Jessica Pegula (USA/3) | | bye |
| Katherine Sebov (CAN) | Linda Fruhvirtova (CZE) | 6:2 4:6 6:4 |
| Viktoria Tomowa (BUL) | Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) | 7:5 6:2 |
| Danielle Collins (USA/30) | | bye |
| Magda Linette (POL/20) | | bye |
| Jewgenia Rodina (RUS) | Bernard Per (USA) | 6:3 6:4 |
| Camila Giorgi (ITA) | Kaia Kanepi (EST) | 7:6 (7/4) 6:7 (4/7) 7:6 (7/4) |
| Viktoria Asarenka (BLR/14) | | bye |
| Lyudmila Samsonowa (RUS/12) | | bye |
| Viktorija Golubic (SUI) | Hailey Baptiste (USA) | 7:6 (7/3) 6:1 |
| Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) | Alexandra Eala (PHI) | 6:2 7:5 |
| Zheng Qinwen (CHN/23) | | bye |
| Anastasia Potapowa (RUS/27) | | bye |
| Marta Kostjuk (UKR) | Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA) | 6:3 6:2 |
| Rebecca Marino (CAN) | Julia Putinzewa (KAZ) | 7:6 (7/4) 6:2 |
| Coco Gauff (USA/6) | | bye |
| Maria Sakkari (GRE/7) | | bye |
| Bianca Andreescu (CAN) | Emma Raducanu (GBR) | 6:3 3:6 6:2 |
| Sofia Kenin (USA) | Storm Hunter (AUS) | 6:0 7:6 (7/5) |
| Anhelina Kalinina (UKR/28) | | bye |
| Yekaterina Alexandrova (RUS/18) | | bye |
| Taylor Townsend (USA) | Anna Bondar (HUN) | 6:4 6:0 |
| Leylah Fernandez (CAN) | Lesja Zurenko (UKR) | 6:4 6:3 |
| Belinda Bencic (SUI/9) | | bye |
| Petra Kvitova (JUN/5) | | bye |
| Linda Noskova (CZE) | Lucia Bronzetti (ITA) | 6:3 6:4 |
| Madison Brengle (USA) | Amanda Anisimova (USA) | 7:6 (7/5) 5:2 ret. |
| Donna Vekic (CRO/22) | | bye |
| Zhang Shuai (CHN/26) | | bye |
| Erika Andrejewa (RUS) | Ashlyn Krueger (USA) | 7:5 6:2 |
| Solvara Gratscheva (RUS) | Maryna Zanevska (BEL) | 6:1 7:5 |
| Ounce Jabeur (TUN/4) | | bye |
| Caroline Garcia (FRA/5) | | bye |
| Sorana Cirstea (ROU) | Fernanda Contreras Gomez (MEX) | 7:6 (8/6) 6:2 |
| Karolina Muchova (CZE) | Jil Teichmann (SUI) | 6:0 6:2 |
| Zhu Lin (CHN/32) | | bye |
| Karolina Pliskova (JUN/17) | | bye |
| Wang Xinyu (CHN) | Anna-Lena Friedsam (GER) | 3:6 6:4 6:2 |
| Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) | Tatjana Maria (GER) | 6:4 6:1 |
| Veronika Kudermetowa (RUS/11) | | bye |
| Barbora Krejcikova (JUN/16) | | bye |
| Alexandra Sasnowitsch (BLR) | Dalma Galfi (HUN) | 6:3 7:6 (7/5) |
| Robin Montgomery (USA) | Ana Bogdan (ROU) | 3:6 6:3 6:3 |
| Madison Keys (USA/19) | | bye |
| Marie Bouzkova (JUN/31) | | bye |
| Anna Blinkova (RUS) | Jule Niemeier (GER) | 6:4 6:1 |
| Shelby Rogers (USA) | Sloane Stephens (USA) | 6:4 3:6 6:2 |
| Arina Sabalenka (BLR/2) | | bye |
* Absage von Iga Swiatek (POL/1)
