The one between Naomi Osaka and Caroline Garcia is becoming the classic for the beginning of 2024 on the WTA circuit. In the third round of the Miami Open, in fact, they meet for the fourth time in their career, the third of the season. This year Garcia won his first head-to-head match at the Australian Open; Osaka, who prevailed in their first match in Melbourne in 2021, took revenge in Doha. Now they meet again in Miami: by winning, Garcia would equal her best result in Miami, the round of 16 achieved in 2019.
Osaka, a finalist here in 2022, earned her way into the highlight match of this day thanks to her second success over a Top 20 after her return at the beginning of 2024. She defeated world number 17 Elina Svitolina 62 76(5) at the end of what he called “one of my best matches of the season”.
Four-time Slam champion, out of action for 15 months on maternity leave, in recent weeks she reached the quarterfinals in Doha, losing against former world number 1 Karolina Pliskova, beat world number 15 Liudmila Samsonova in Indian Wells and in Miami she has not yet lost a set in two matches.
“I want to play better and better. Svitolina is a great player, to have a chance to win I had only one chance, to play really well” said Osaka, who is moving better and better and can launch the long sprint, respecting her goal announced upon her return to field: arriving at the US Open with the possibility of fighting to win the title. “Of course I have to take it one step at a time, start winning matches before thinking about winning titles. But the more I win, the more comfortable I will feel on the pitch.”
Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur are out instead. The world number 2, who defeated her friend Paula Badosa a few days after the death of her ex-boyfriend which the police defined as “an apparent suicide”, concluded her campaign in Miami against Anhelina Kalinina. The finalist of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2023 won 64 16 61 and signed the second career victory against a Top 5. Already capable of saving a match point in the previous round before defeating the former world number 1 Caroline Wozniacki, Kalinina benefited from Sabalenka’s 55 frees, which outweighed her 42 winners. In the round of 16 she will face Yulia Putintseva.
Jabeur, world number 6, instead suffered her fifth defeat in seven matches played on the WTA circuit in 2024. The Tunisian requested a medical time out in the first set due to the recurring right knee problem, and in the end she gave up 61 46 63 against Elina Avanesyan who signed her second victory of the season against a Top 10 player.
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2024-03-24 09:45:45
#WTA #Miami #OsakaGarcia #highlight #match #Sabalenka
