LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) – Greece’s Maria Sakkari fired off 5 aces to make mild work of Czech Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-0 within the third spherical of Indian Wells on Monday (March 14).
The world No. 6 gained all of her first-serve factors within the first set and dropped only one within the second, as Kvitova struggled together with her serve, producing 5 double-faults throughout the 66-minute affair in California.
Two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova ceded break level within the eighth sport of the primary set and by no means regained her composure, as Sakkari fended off two breaks to shut out the body and ran away with the match within the second set.
“It was a little bit tough for me to get used to her serve,” mentioned Sakkari, who reached the semi-final at Roland-Garros and the US Open final 12 months.
“Once I broke her, I simply felt like that’s was the precise option to return her serve and I used to be simply very stable from the again of the court docket.
It was the second time that Sakkari has reached the spherical of 16 at tennis’ unofficial “fifth Major,” after she reached the fourth spherical in 2018.
Later within the day’s motion, two-time winner and thirteenth seed Victoria Azarenka fell to Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina 6-3, 6-4 after a malfunctioning serve noticed her produce eight double faults.
An in-form Rybakina produced a pristine first set, launching 4 aces with out dropping a single first-serve level to assert the early momentum.
With her proper shoulder closely taped and a sleeve positioned on her proper arm, two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka grimaced, crouched down on the court docket and wept after a double fault within the fifth sport of the second set. That prompted the chair umpire to strategy Azarenka to ask if she wanted medical consideration.
Azarenka, who misplaced within the closing final 12 months to Spain’s Paula Badosa, apologised and continued however Rybakina transformed the important break level within the seventh sport of the second set.
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