Watch: Mike Tyson causes delay during Miami final between Elena Rybakina and Petra Kvitova
Elena Rybakina and Petra Kvitova's final at the 2023 Miami Open had a slight delay due to the late arrival of American boxing legend Mike Tyson.
Petra Kvitova defeated Elena Rybakina in Miami to lift her ninth WTA 1000 trophy, in the process dashing her hopes of completing the Sunshine Double. The pair had a very close battle during the opening set, which set the record for the longest tiebreak ever played in a WTA 1000 final.
Kvitova was dominant in the second set though, breaking the Kazakh's serve twice to take an unassailable lead. The former World No. 2 eventually won the match 7-6(14), 6-2, thus ending Rybakina's 13-match winning streak.
Former boxer Mike Tyson was in attendance too during the Miami final, but his late arrival disrupted Elena Rybakina's service routine. Despite the umpire making the call for the spectators to take their seats, the players had to wait for Tyson to sit down before the final could commence.
🥊Iron @MikeTyson in the house for the women's final! 🎾🥊
#MiamiOpen https://t.co/Ty08tNLaBW
Petra Kvitova highlights challenge of constantly facing young stars like Elena Rybakina
Following her win, Petra Kvitova acknowledged how challenging it is to take on young players like Elena Rybakina in crucial matches. The 33-year-old stated that defeating the youngsters means "a lot" to her.
"Yeah, of course this means a lot. The young ones are coming up all the time. It's tough to really face them all the time (smiling). It's very tiring," Kvitova said in a press conference after the final.
"Elena is young, as well. So, yeah, it's still tough to compete, of course, with all of them," the Czech added.
Kvitova was also very complimentary of Rybakina's performance in Indian Wells and Miami, as well as the 2023 season in general. The Czech wished Rybakina the best for the remainder of the year.
"First of all, I have to congratulate Elena for an incredible, not just those two weeks, but whole year, you are playing amazing. You have a great serve. I'm really happy today that I could share the court with you again and well done to your team as well. Good luck for the rest of the season," Kvitova said in her winning speech.
Following the Miami Open final, Elena Rybakina will maintain her World No. 7 ranking. Meanwhile, Petra Kvitova will make a return to the WTA top 10 for the first time since September 2021.