Iga Swiatek stunned by 50th-ranked Linette at Miami Open

Miami – (Web Desk) – Iga Swiatek was knocked out of the Miami Open in the second round on Thursday. She lost to her fellow Pole, 50th-ranked Magda Linette, who came back to win 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, looked strong at first but couldn’t close the match.

Swiatek, who won the Miami Open in 2022 and is the reigning Wimbledon champion, suffered her first early exit at a tournament since the 2021 WTA Finals. This adds to a tough season for her. She was also eliminated in the Australian Open quarter-finals and in WTA 1000 events at Doha and Indian Wells.

Even though Swiatek was seeded second in Miami, she dropped to third in the world rankings. Elena Rybakina moved up to second behind top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka.

Linette had a hard fight. Swiatek won the first set easily in just 33 minutes, taking the last meeting between them 6-1, 6-1. But Linette didn’t give up. She stayed focused, served better, and made Swiatek work for every point. In the second set, she forced a third by winning a critical game with a strong return.

“I just had to go for a little more,” Linette said. “I had to hit faster and push her back, not give her space. Serving better helped too.”

Swiatek tried to fight back. She saved match points in the third set. But Linette held her nerve and finally won when Swiatek sent a backhand wide.

“She plays really well when it’s match point,” Linette said. “I knew I had to stay strong on my serve.”

Linette advanced to a third-round matchup against 20-year-old Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, a 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 6-3 winner over Germany’s Laura Siegemund.

“It really was close,” said Eala, a surprise semi-finalist last year who needed three hours and 20 minutes to close out the victory.

“It was demanding, physically and mentally. But that was one of my goals last year after the tournament, to improve physically, and here I am fresh as a flower.”

It was the longest WTA career match for 29th-ranked Eala, who beat Swiatek in last year’s Miami Open quarter-finals for the biggest win of her career before losing to American Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals.

Former world number one Venus Williams, 45, lost her first-round match to Britain’s Francesca Jones 7-5, 7-5 after one hour and 51 minutes.

Jones advanced to a second-round match against fifth seed Pegula, last year’s Miami runner-up to Sabalenka.

– Fonseca books Alcaraz clash –
On the men’s side 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca outlasted Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, to book a second-round match with world number one Carlos Alcaraz.

Fonseca, ranked 39th, was strongly backed by Brazilian fans as he booked a first-ever meeting with Alcaraz and his second marquee contest in as many tournaments after falling to Jannik Sinner at Indian Wells last week.

French 17-year-old Moise Kouame beat qualifier Zachary Svajda 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to become the youngest player to claim an ATP Masters 1000 victory since Rafael Nadal in Hamburg in 2003.

Kouame, who received a wild card invitation, next faces 21st seed Jiri Lehecka of Czech Republic.

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Kouame, who battled through cramping late in the match, was thrilled to receive a message of congratulations from his idol Novak Djokovic.

“He texted me something really, really nice,” Kouame said. “I don’t know how I’m going to answer. Hopefully I can meet him… it will be my dream.”

Magda Linette celebrates her stunning win over Iga Swiatek at the Miami Open second round.