Murray rips Tomic while Li, Radwanska advance
MIAMI (AFP) –
Andy Murray of Scotland runs to play a backhand against Bernard Tomic of Australia during their second round match at the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 23, 2013 in Key Biscayne, Florida. Murray, the reigning Olympic and US Open champion, advanced to the third round of the WTA and ATP Miami Masters by routing Tomic 6-3, 6-1.
Britain’s second-seeded Andy Murray mastered the tricky conditions and made short work of Australian Bernard Tomic on Saturday to reach the third round of the Miami ATP Masters and WTA tournament.
Tomic managed to win only 10 points in the final set of a 56-minute match dominated by the reigning Olympic and US Open champion, who has a training base in Miami.
“It’s very tough conditions,” Murray said of his determination to get off to a quick start in his first match after enjoying a first-round bye.
“You’re never going to feel great your first match, especially when it’s tricky conditions and with his game style, too,” added the Scot.
“I don’t know if he was tired or struggling with the humidity, but he was playing pretty low-percentage tennis. That played into my hands.”
World No. 3 Murray wasn’t sure that Tomic deserved the jeers he heard from fans as he faded in the second set.
Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland returns a shot to Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia during the Sony Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 22, 2013 in Key Biscayne, Florida. Radwanska outlasted Rybarikova 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 6-3.
“You know, it is tough when you’re going behind and making quite a lot of mistakes,” Murray said. “I have done it before when my head has gone down and you still want to win, but it doesn’t always appear that way.”
Murray, who lost to top-ranked Novak Djokovic in last year’s final, next faces Grigor Dimitrov, who won the first set against Simone Bolelli with the second set level at 1-1 when the Italian retired.
Murray, the 2009 Miami champion, beat the rising Bulgarian star to retain his title in Brisbane in January.
The Scot remained perfect against Tomic, the youngest player in the ATP top 100 at age 20, after having won their only prior meeting 6-3, 6-2 last year in a semi-final at Brisbane.
Murray broke in the fifth game and then held serve for a 4-2 lead, taking full advantage of 14 unforced errors in the first six games by Tomic.
Li Na of China serves against Varvara Lepchenko during their third round match at the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 23, 2013 in Key Biscayne, Florida. smacked 19 winners and fought off a late comeback bid to defeat Lepchenko 6-2, 6-4.
Tomic netted a backhand to hand Murray a second break, and the first set, in the ninth game of the match.
Murray broke Tomic twice in the second set as well, and closed it out with his eighth ace.
In other men’s matches, French sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Serbia’s Viktor Troicki 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 to reach the third round.
Tsonga seized a 5-1 lead in the tie-breaker but the Serb scored the next five points to earn his second set point. Tsonga denied him with an ace and two points later, Troicki netted a drop volley to hand the Frenchman the first set.
Tsonga needed four break chances but finally took the opening game of the second set when Troicki netted a backhand.
Troicki could never get back on terms, going 0-for-5 on break chances in the second set.
Defending women’s champion Agnieszka Radwanska outlasted Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 6-3 to reach the round of 16.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France serves against ViktorTroicki of Serbia during their second round match at the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 23, 2013 in Key Biscayne, Florida. Tsonga won 7-6 (8/6), 6-3.
The Polish fourth seed has a chance to become the first repeat women’s winner at Miami since Serena Williams in 2007-2008.
Radwanska will next face Sloane Stephens who advanced when Venus Williams withdrew with a back injury.
World No. 1 Serena Williams continued her progress toward a sixth Miami WTA title with a 6-3, 6-3 third-round victory over Japan’s Ayumi Morita.
Williams got off to a slow start, dropping her serve in the second game as Morita raced to a 3-0 lead.
But the American bounced back with a vengeance, winning the next six games to pocket the first set.
She broke Morita for a 4-2 lead in the second, gave herself a first match point with her seventh ace and finished it off with a service winner.
It was good news for the Williams family after elder sister Venus withdrew with a lower back injury shortly before her third-round match against American Sloane Stephens.
“I think it was the right decision for her,” Serena said of her sister’s withdrawal. “I haven’t seen her really on the practice court as much because she wasn’t feeling great, so I think she’s taking everything a day at a time.”
Venus’s withdrawal followed that of Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka on Friday before her opening match with an ankle injury.
Two more top-10 women bowed out on Saturday, as Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova suffered third-round defeats.
Young Spaniard Garbine Muguruza dispatched ninth-seeded Wozniacki — a former world No. 1 — 6-2, 6-4.
Fifth-seeded Li Na of China booked her fourth-round berth with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Varvara Lepchenko.
Li smacked 19 winners and fought off a late comeback bid by the American, who battled back from 4-2 down in the second set to level the frame at 4-4.
Li broke her again in the 10th game to seal the match, belting a forehand winner to end matters.