Sakkari romps into Miami third round, Wozniacki loses in thriller
While it was smooth passage for Sakkari it was rough going for Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, the fourth seed having to dig deep to see off determined Danish qualifier Clara Tauson 3-6 7-5 6-4 in a near empty Hard Rock stadium.
After splitting the opening two sets in a ragged back-and-forth contest, 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina finally seized control with a break to nose in front 3-2 in the third and would never let go of the lead.
Sakkari, putting the 6-4 6-0 California drubbing at the hands of world number one Iga Swiatek in Sunday’s final in the rearview mirror, was all business after having failed at the first hurdle in her last two visits to Miami.
Having collected her first WTA Tour title in Austin last month and following that up with a quarter-final run at Indian Wells, Yuan represented a potentially tricky first test for eighth seeded Greek.
But the 28-year-old passed with flying colours, breaking her Chinese opponent five times in the 79-minute masterclass.
