By Steve Gorten
KEY BISCAYNE – Sabine Lisicki pulled off yet another upset in the women’s singles draw of the 2015 Miami Open, beating Ana Ivanovic in the first match of the night session Sunday.
Lisicki, ranked No. 21 in the world and the 27th seed at this tournament, edged the No. 6 ranked and fifth-seeded Ivanovic 7-6 (4), 7-5 on stadium court.
Earlier in the tournament, second-seeded Maria Sharapova and sixth-seeded Eugenie Bouchard also fell in upset losses.
“I played very well,” said Lisicki, who earned her first top-10 win of the year and the 13th of her career. “I had a great two weeks at Indian Wells and I took that confidence with me. That was very important in this match, especially after the last match we played. I’m very happy with the way that I played and pulled it off.”
Ivanovic had won four of their five previous meetings — all in straight sets, including 6-1, 6-3 most recently at Stuttgart last year. After losing the first set Sunday, she led 4-1 in the second before Lisicki rallied.
“In the beginning of the second set, I stopped playing my game and my level went a little bit lower,” Lisicki said. “The important thing was to just keep playing my game, and that’s what I started doing again.”
Prior to reaching the semifinals at Indian Wells, Lisicki had lost in the first round in five of her previous six tournaments. Now, she gets a fourth-round match against 11th-seeded Sara Errani, who rallied to beat No. 21 seed Garbine Muguruza 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 Sunday. Lisicki has won three of the four head-to-head matchups with Errani.
“I’ll have to be ready for that match because she’s a fighter,” Lisicki said. “I’m looking forward to that one.”