Her movement was once again hampered, but that did not stop #VenusWilliams from claiming a straight sets win over 24th seed #CarlaSuarezNavarro in the second round of the 2019 #MiamiOpen. Looking sluggish at the start of the match, the American home favourite warmed up to the occasion and started to produce some baseline excellence, overpowering the Spaniard to move into the third round.
Williams, having battled past the tricky qualifier Dalila Jakupovic in the first round, was looking under the weather at the start of the match but got straight to business straight after, overcoming some injury concerns to claim the 7-6, 6-1 win after an hour and 30-minutes as her serves once again mainly hovered around the 80 mph mark.
Firing 31 winners, Williams dominated the baseline against the powerless Suarez Navarro who had no legitimate weapons to offer except for her world-class one-handed backhands which stunned the crowd at times. The American committed 28 unforced errors, most of which came early in the opening set, but she definitely experienced a better day at the office than the former world number six, who found just 15 winners to 30 unforced errors.
Three-time champion Williams will now face a familiar foe in Daria Kasatkina, who shrugged off her recent struggles to beat Cori Gauff in straight sets later in the day. Williams trails their head-to-head 1-2 but will go into their third-round encounter as the overwhelming favourite.
Williams overcomes a slow start to snatch the tight first set
It seemed like a nightmarish start for Williams, who looked nowhere near her best — not even 10 percent of her abilities. Her footwork was all over the place, and she threw in three double-faults in just the opening game alone.
This handed Suarez Navarro the free break of serve, and it looked like the Spaniard would have the win without a hassle today as Williams’ body language was giving off negative vibes which made several of her fans worry about a possible retirement from the match.
Unexpectedly, with some aggressive hitting from the baseline, Williams broke straight back in the next game having saved two game points to get onto the scoreboard. She was doing an excellent job in moving her opponent all around the court and found better serves into the court as we finally managed to catch a glimpse of her true abilities.
An exchange of breaks saw Suarez Navarro fighting against her own errors, and she held her nerves as she stopped the rout of losing three straight games to level the scores. She had the golden opportunity to completely turn the tables on the seven-time Major champion but failed to convert two break points as Williams found new life in her game — firing a 104 mph ace to save the first, before the 2015 finalist sent a routine backhand second serve return long.
Neither of them was able to find another breakthrough on the return, although Williams had to battle back from tricky 15-30 situations to hold serve on two different occasions to send the first set into a tiebreak.
A gorgeous backhand down-the-line winner from Suarez Navarro helped her earn a 4-3 lead in the tiebreak, but that proved to be the last point she would win in the first set as Williams rattled off four consecutive points to take the opening set 7-6 after exactly one hour of play.
Williams grabs the straight-sets win
Everything was going in Williams’ way — the match, the crowd, and even the netcord on break point in the opening game as Suarez Navarro grew increasingly frustrated and her negative body language gave everything off. She was broken to start the second set and the win seemed distant for the Spaniard.
Suarez Navarro rebounded in the best possible manner, replying with a huge forehand winner to earn a break point, which was her first since the seventh game of the first set. However, Williams produced a better reply — coming up with a world-class volley winner to fend off that break point. She ultimately held on and consolidated the break for a 2-0 lead, putting herself closer to the finishing line.
Another backhand winner helped Suarez Navarro claim a spirited service hold to stay in touch on the scoreboard, and the comeback was not entirely impossible considering the highest-ranked one-handed backhand player owns three wins over Williams and has reached the final in Miami previously in 2015.
Williams then asserted her authority across the court, shutting the comeback doors as she stomped to yet another comfortable service hold with her movement not looking that hindered anymore. There was a lengthy break in the fifth game as a spectator was feeling ill in the stands, causing delay to the proceedings but that 13-minute break did not stop Williams’ momentum as she proceeded to break for a double-break advantage which all but sealed the victory.
The American seemed to be in a rush, claiming 16 of the last 22 points to seal the terrific 7-6, 6-1 win despite the slow start, underplaying her injury concerns to book a spot in the third round. Williams is defending quarterfinal points here in Miami, therefore, an early loss would have seen her fall out of the top-50.
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