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Gauff and Sabalenka advance in Miami but Rybakina falls / Photo: © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Gauff and Sabalenka advance in Miami but Rybakina falls
World number one Aryna Sabalenka and third-seeded Coco Gauff eased through their second round matches at the Miami Open on Thursday but seventh seed Elena Rybakina crashed out to American Ashlyn Krueger.
Sabalenka beat Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova 6-3 6-0 in a contest which lasted just 58 minutes while Gauff made even shorter work of her match, beating 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-0 6-0 in just 47 minutes.
For Sabalenka, who was beaten in the Indian Wells final by Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva on Sunday, it was a comfortable start to her bid in South Florida.
"I'm super happy to get this win. A bit tricky with the conditions, and I didn't have much time to adjust, so just happy with the performance today," said the Belarussian, who said the contrast with conditions in California was striking.
"I feel like it's a bit slower here, probably because of the balls, everything, it's much heavier on the body.
"Then it was windy. It was a bit like different stadium. It's just like everything new, and I had few days to adjust. That was a bit tricky, but I think I handled pretty well. So happy to get through," she added.
Gauff, who has made a slow start to the season, said it had simply been a case of everything falling into place for her from the outset.
"I was definitely playing well today, and maybe she wasn't playing her peak great tennis. I don't think anyone who is playing their best tennis will have that scoreline today, so I'm not going to sit here and say she played her best tennis," she said.
Gauff, who suffered a surprise exit to Belinda Bencic at Indian Wells last week, said she wasn't trying to prove any point about her form.
"I know where I personally stand in my game. Yes, it's not been up to my standards, but at the same time, you know, we are just March and our season ends in November. There is a lot of time to improve.
"Today I wasn't going in with that in my mind. It just happened to be a great day for me," she said.
Krueger, the 20-year-old Texan, claimed her first win over a top-10 opponent beating 2023 Miami Open finalist Rybakina 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in 1 hour and 50 minutes.
The American, ranked 40th in the world, will face Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the next round.
In an all-American clash in the men's draw, Reilly Opelka beat Christopher Eubanks 6-3 7-6 (7/4) to improve to 4-0 in their head-to-head record.
The tall Opelka won all 26 of his first-serve points in the second set and wrapped up the 85-minute win with an ace.
S.Hall--SFF
