(Reuters) – Former champion Iga Swiatek beat Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia for the second time in as many tournaments with a 6-2 7-5 victory on Friday that put the Polish second seed into the third round of the Miami Open while Nick Kyrgios was sent packing.
Swiatek beat Garcia in straight sets at the same stage in Indian Wells where the Pole’s title defence ended last week in the semi-finals but faced a much more determined opponent this time around.
Swiatek powered through the first two games of the match without dropping a point and then consolidated another service break for a 4-0 lead before leaning on her serve to secure the first set in 29 minutes.
But the Pole faced much more resistance during a back-and-forth second set as she overturned a 3-1 deficit and then saved a set point while serving at 5-4 down as she closed out the match by winning the last three games.
Up next for Swiatek will be Belgian Elise Mertens, who advanced with a 6-4 6-1 win over American Peyton Stearns.
On the men’s side, Australian Kyrgios, who this week earned his first win since October 2022, fell 7-6(3) 6-0 to Karen Khachanov in second round action.
Former Miami finalist Casper Ruud, the fifth seed, advanced with a 3-6 6-4 6-4 win over Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic while 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who lost in last year’s final, moved on with a 6-1 6-4 win over Italian wild card Federico Cina.
Six-times Miami champion Novak Djokovic will launch his quest for a 100th tour-level title when he faces Rinky Hijikata while second seed Carlos Alcaraz is set to kick off the evening session against Belgian David Goffin.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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