Serena Williams came through a tough test to clinch a 6-4
4-6 6-4 victory over Caroline Garcia in the third round of the Sony Open
Tennis.
Defending champion and top seed Williams is playing in
her first tournament back after a month-long break and has spent her opening
two matches in Miami shaking off some rust.
French prospect Garcia went toe-to-toe with the 17-time
grand slam winner for over two and a half hours before finally giving in.
Williams, who lives an hour's drive from the Crandon Park
complex where the tournament is held, took the opening set 6-4 but lost the
second by the same score, gifting her opponent two set points with a sixth
double fault of the contest.
An early break of serve in the decider looked to have
eased Williams' passage to the next round, but Garcia gamely saved five more
break points before the world No 1 finally sealed the win.
"I really gave myself a tremendous amount of trouble
out there," she said afterwards. "Granted she played great but I made
so many errors. I hit so short. I just have to do better."
There were no such problems for Ana Ivanovic and
Angelique Kerber, who enjoyed straight-sets wins over Flavia Pennetta and
Tsvetana Pironkova respectively in the third round.
Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova eased past
qualifier Donna Vekic 6-3 6-4 but ninth seed Sara Errani was eliminated after
going down 6-3 2-6 6-4 to Ekaterina Makarova.
In the late match, Maria Sharapova was made to work hard
by Lucie Safarova before finally recording a 6-4 6-7 (9/7) 6-2 victory.
The Russian needed no less than nine match points, the
first two of which came and went in the tie-break that decided the second set.
Eventually Safarova could not hold off the threat of defeat any longer, pushing
a weary forehand into the net to end a match that lasted for three hours.
Meanwhile, last year's Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki
pulled out of the event due to illness, granting Kirsten Flipkens a walkover
into the last 16.
Culled from Skysports
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