Coco Gauff rallied from dropping the first set to beat fellow American Alycia Parks 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 to advance into the Round of 16 in the Miami Open on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
It was the second straight day that the fourth-seeded Gauff dropped the first set but came back to win the match. She saved 14 of 16 break-point chances she faced, including all 10 over the adverse final two sets, which were a tougher battle than the scoreline indicates.
Parks won 49% of her service points and 40% of her return points, with both competitors finishing with eight double faults.
“It was really difficult,” Gauff said after her win. “She was playing really well and she’s one of those people who’s hit or miss sometimes. So, you’re stuck in the fine line of being aggressive but also maybe just making her play. … The second and third (sets), I just tried to be aggressive when I could. I made some adjustments on the return and I think that made a difference.”
It was largely a day without upsets in Miami, with only a pair of seeded competitors falling to unseeded foes.
Australia’s Talia Gibson knocked off 16th-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan 7-5, 6-4 in second-round competition. Osaka had 13 aces to one double fault but was unable to break Gibson, failing in all four opportunities she had. Gibson managed a break in each set, at 5-5 in Set 1 and in the opening game of Set 2, winning 69% of her service points and just 33% of her return points to build off reaching the Indian Wells quarterfinals earlier this month.
“I was able to draw on some experiences from Indian Wells to stay calm,” Gibson said. “It’s been really cool to see what I am capable of, and it’s really exciting for me.”
In Round of 32 action, Romania’s Sorana Cirstea eliminated No. 21 Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-3, 6-2, setting herself up as Gauff’s next opponent with a quarterfinal spot up for grabs.
In other third-round action, No. 6 Amanda Anisimova, No. 8 Mirra Andreeva of Russia, No. 10 Victoria Mboko of Canada, No. 12 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, No. 13 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic and No. 31 Alexandra Eala of the Philippines all advanced to the Round of 16 with straight-set victories.
In Round of 64 action on Saturday, a trio of seeded Americans in No. 5 Jessica Pegula (the runner-up last year in Miami), No. 15 Madison Keys and No. 18 Iva Jovic advanced with minimal resistance. Pegula won via second-set retirement but was up 6-1, 3-0 and appeared poised to close out the match in the near future.
An unseeded American, Sloane Stephens, had less success in the Round of 64, falling to No. 23 Qinwen Zheng 6-3, 6-2.
In one of only two three-set matches of the day, Canadian 26th seed Leylah Fernandez outlasted Russia’s Oksana Selekhmeteva 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-1 in a two-hour, 25-minute battle. Fernandez next faces Pegula for a spot in the fourth round.
–Field Level Media
