Miami Gardens, FL, March 28 (US): Paula Padusa was halfway through an on-court interview after another win at the Miami Open when an idea came to her.
Considering where she was now, it made a lot of sense.
“Why do I speak English?” She asked. “I think there are a lot more Spanish than English here.”
A few words in Spanish later, the crowd – always multicultural in the melting pot of Miami – roared in glee. Regardless of language, Padusa qualified for the fourth round of the Miami Open after defeating Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-2 on Sunday, the Associated Press reported.
It’s Padusa’s deepest tour of Miami, with more than a few fans waving Spanish flags in her honor.
Mocas Gracias said.
Padusa came to Miami – the tournament was held nearby Key Biscayne at the time – for the first time in 2015 and reached the third round while ranked 419th in the world. She was 222nd when she came back in 2016, then 316th a year later, 130th in 2019, and 71st when she arrived in Miami last year.
But the past 12 months have seen serious changes in the rankings, particularly on the women’s side, and not just after the sudden retirement last week of Ash Barty – who will be knocked out of the rankings on April 4 and replaced by Iga Swiatek as the new number one. – Single player in the ladies game.
Depending on how the rest of this course goes, Badosa may be ready to climb to second behind Swiatek when Miami is over. She’s a complete star now, and she even got the celebrity treatment and her personalized T-shirt when she headed to a game at the Miami Heat a few miles down the road last week.
“I’m really happy with the performance,” Padusa said.
Padusa will meet unseeded Linda Frohvertova in the fourth round, after the 16-year-old Czech defeated the three-time Miami Open and 12th seed Victoria Azarenka. Fruhvirtova advanced 6-2, 3-0 when Azarenka – the only past Miami winner left in the draw – retired.
“It’s what I’ve always dreamed of,” said Fruhvirtova, who entered Miami at number 279 and is likely to climb about 100 places – more if she keeps winning.
It was not a dream for Azarenka, who abruptly left the match and walked off the field. Later, in a statement released during the tournament, she apologized.
“I shouldn’t have gone to court today,” she said. “The last few weeks have been very stressful in my personal life. The last match took a lot of me, but I wanted to play in front of a big crowd because they helped me get through my first match. I wanted to go out there and try but it was wrong. I hope to take a break and be able to come back” .
Swatik, who is playing for the first time since his first-ranked world number one victory, edged out American Madison Pringle 6-0, 6-3.
Coco Gauff, who played about 45 minutes from her home, overcame a tough test from Zhang Shuai and won 7-6 (1), 7-5. American Jessica Pegula also reached the fourth round, as the 16th seed beat No. 17 Elena Rybakina 6-3, 6-4. Veronica Kudretova, seeded 21, also advanced, with American Shelby Rogers leading 6-1, 7-5 and 28th seed Petra Kvitova.
On the men’s side, Nick Kyrgios had some problems.
Fortunately for him, they were only of variety after the match.
He was taking part in a promotion where he was supposed to hit a commemorative tennis ball in the crowd, and whoever ended up winning a prize from one of the tournament sponsors.
The problem was that Kyrgios’ first attempt ended with only a photographer. His second attempt ended between sections of the seats, no one could claim them. At that point, officials found another way to award the prize.
Kyrgios was more meticulous when things mattered. He had 24 winners to just 12 unforced errors and needed just 61 minutes to beat 31st seed Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-4 – and has now reached the fourth round in Miami in all five of his tournament matches.
It’s no secret that he is irritable. This might come as a surprise: Moments before he is due to appear in court on Sunday, Kyrgios has already yawned.
“All of the social media platforms that promote the game and expect it to be fireworks, I knew I had to come in with a calm mindset, head down and let it bring in all the glow and stuff today,” Kyrgios said. “I just had to keep my head down and get to work.”
It worked, and everything was smiling after that.
“I love playing in front of you guys,” Kyrgios said.
The same applies to American 28th seed Frances Tiafoe, who reached the fourth round in Miami for the fourth time after defeating Juan Manuel Cerondolo 6-3 6-2.
Tiafoe’s next opponent may seek family revenge. He will now face Francisco Cerondolo – brother of Juan Manuel – who won 6-2 6-3 over 22nd seed Gael Monfils.
No. 6 Casper Rudd had a hard time beating No. 30 Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-2, and 10th seed Cameron Norrie cleared seven points from the match before finally closing in on Hugo Gaston in straight sets. 9 seed Yannick Sener also won, topping No. 17 Pablo Carreno Busta 5-7, 7-5, 7-5.