Miami Open: Misaki Doi outlasts cramping Wang Xinyu in three sets
- Don Han
- Mar 22, 2019
- 3 min read
Struggling with cramps once more, rising star #WangXinyu put up an inspired performance before falling short to the experienced #MisakiDoi, who moves into the second round of the #MiamiOpen for the first time in her career with a solid 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 win after just an hour and 36-minutes of action.
After splitting two one-sided sets, Wang was tipped to claim the win after having the momentum but physical limitations once again proved to be her doom as she was unable to put up her best efforts and compete till the very end. On the other hand, Doi was nerveless and displayed some nerves of steel as she deservedly booked a spot in the second round where she will face 28th seed Lesia Tsurenko.
Doi strolls to take the first set
Doi started the match in the best possible way — with her solid baseline tennis working extremely well against the hard-hitting Wang. The Japanese could not miss any shots, a drastic contrast to her opponent who was making her debut in a Premier Mandatory event. The 17-year-old seemed nervous and portrayed the role of an unforced error machine, handing out free points and conceded 12 of the first 15 points in the match.
Wang finally managed to get onto the scoreboard in the fourth game with a confidence-boosting service hold, but it was an error fest when Doi was serving as those lefty serves really caused some troubles to the youngster, who could not handle the spin and often committed errors as a result.
Serving to stay in the set down 2-5, Wang was unable to rebound as she put in a woeful display to her debut in Miami, losing the first set 2-6 but all credits should belong to Doi, who was so consistent and composed, stringing together a flawless set of tennis.
Wang fights back in some style
After that disastrous first set, Wang started the second set in the way that she would have wanted — breaking serve for the first time in the afternoon having won just three return points throughout the entire first set. Doi experienced a dip in her level; throwing in an unfortunate double-fault to allow Wang to have the lead for the first time.
Firing on all cylinders with her thunderous groundstrokes, Wang powered to a commanding 3-0 lead and looked to be flying on cloud nine. However, a slight hiccup followed as shades of inconsistencies started to haunt her, forcing her to produce several abundant errors and gift Doi one of the breaks back.
Just when many thought that Doi had the momentum, Wang snatched it back immediately. Three consecutive games came and went, and all went in the favour of the Chinese youngster as she flew through the second set to send the match into a decider.
Doi grabs the narrow win
The final set was full of missed opportunities for Wang, who failed to convert countless break points as Doi boasted her years of experience and claimed the victory in three hard-fought sets after saving all seven break points she faced in the decider.
Wang had the golden opportunity to take the lead early in the final set as she had all the momentum running in her, but costly errors at the crucial moments paved the path for Doi to find her way back into the match.
Doi grew in confidence and became increasingly aggressive, keeping her young opponent at bay as she looked to dominate play and control the proceedings. Wang’s vulnerable second serves were brutally punished as the first breakthrough of the decider surprisingly went to Doi, the 27-year-old who is yet to win a main draw match in Miami throughout her career.
Owning a formidable 0-40 lead in the eighth game, many thought that Wang would have all but sealed the break back, but unfortunately, cramps started to kick in, just like her retirement against Sharapova earlier this year in Shenzhen where she was leading but suffered from cramps.
This perfectly represents the difference between the junior circuit and the senior circuit as Wang is currently still struggling to deal with the requirements of the senior circuit, especially due to its physical demands as she is unable to maintain her high level of play throughout a three-set match.
This time, she was able to continue but her movement was visibly affected, and Doi took full advantage as she survived the nervy service game and could be considered lucky to hold for a 5-3 lead, putting herself in a pole position to close out the match. Serving to stay in the match, Wang was unable to serve in the proper manner and ultimately fell in three heartbreaking sets despite that inspired comeback attempt.
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