By Justin Ross
In today’s round of play at the Miami Open, the second semifinals matchup in the women’s draw was determined. It will be world No. 11 Johanna Konta taking on world No. 12 Venus Williams.
Both doubles semifinals matchups were finalized as well. The No. 5 seeded duo of Yun-Jan Chan and Martina Hingis will face the No. 3 seeded team of Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova. The other matchup will pit the No. 4 seeded team of Andrea Hlavackova and Shuai Peng against the unseeded team of Gabriela Dabrowski and Yifun Xu.
First, it was Britain’s Johanna Konta who came back from a set deficit to defeat Romania’s Simona Halep 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2.
During the second set, Halep had a critical chance to take the match, but Konta rallied to win the tiebreak.
Despite going 6-of-8 on break points in the second set, Halep’s 6 double-faults hurt her chance to close the contest. Konta is now 3-1 in head-to-head matches.
“I think it was important for me to keep fighting and to keep — yeah, to stay very present. I think there wasn’t that much momentum at that point in that match necessarily in her corner, so I think I also just stayed very aware that although she was serving for the match, I was still very much in there,” said Konta. “I really tried to just fight every single point and stay very present.”
Konta’s road to the semis includes victories over Lara Arruabarrena and Pauline Parmentier. She also becomes the first person from Great Britain to reach the semis in Miami, and she joins Pliskova as the only semifinalists to capture a WTA Tour title in 2017.
At night, the tournament’s only remaining American and previous winner in Venus Williams defeated world No. 1 Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3.
With the win, the tournament’s oldest remaining participant, Williams, 36, and youngest, Pliskova, 25, both will play in the semis. Williams is also the only remaining player to have a Grand Slam title with seven total.
“It was an interesting match. I was controlling it. I had more errors than I like and lower first serve percentage than I would like. For me, I’m looking at it from a standpoint of how can I get better.” Williams said.
The American’s road to the semifinals includes victories over Beatriz Haddad Maia, Patricia Maria Tig and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
With the loss, Kerber is now 0-4 against top 20 opponents this season. She still leads the head-to-head series with Williams 4-3.
In doubles action, Chan and Hingis defeated Andreja Klepac and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-4, 6-2, while Dabrowski and Xu defeated the Russian duo of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 7-6(3), 6-1.
Semis action takes place Thursday as Williams squares off with Konta and Wozniacki faces Pliskova.
Konta is 2-1 in head-to-head play with Williams, while Wozniacki is 3-1 in career meetings with Pliskova. Pliskova, Williams and Wozniacki are yet to drop a set in the tournament.
Check out the full results here: https://www.miamiopen.com/live-scoring-2017
Check out the schedule of match play here: https://www.miamiopen.com/2017-draws-and-order-of-play
Tickets for the annual event start at $12 for youth and $15 for adults. A group rate of $7 is also available for 20 or more and grant access to all day session matches. Tickets are on sale now, for more information go to www.miamiopen.com or call the Miami Open ticket office at 305-442-3367.
The 2017 Miami Open is scheduled for March 20 – April 2 and will once again be the hottest ticket in town. With ticket packages starting at just $136 and individual sessions starting at $20 the Miami Open will be the place-to-be.
About the Miami Open presented by Itaú
The 2017 Miami Open will be played March 20-April 2 at the Crandon Tennis Center in Miami. The two-week combined event is owned and operated by IMG. The Miami Open is one of nine ATP Masters 1000 Series events on the ATP calendar, a Premier Mandatory event on the WTA calendar, and features the top men’s and women’s tennis players in the world. The tournament is widely regarded as the most glamorous on the ATP and WTA calendars because of its exotic Miami location, thriving nightlife, five-star hotels and restaurants, beautiful weather and beaches, and its celebrity appeal. For ticket information, call +1.305.442.3367 or visit www.miamiopen.com.
About Itaú
Itau is the largest Latin America privately owned bank, with approximately 95,000 employees and operations in 20 countries throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe. Itaú’s relationship with sport goes back to the 1970s, when Itaú first sponsored the Itaú Tennis Cup in Brazil in 1970. Itaú has been a sponsor of the Miami Open for the last six years, and also sponsors the Rio Open, the only combined ATP/WTA event in South America. Itaú also supports the Brazilian Women’s Tennis Circuit, only female professional tournament in South America, certified by the Brazilian Tennis Confederation (CBT) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF), as well as the Tennis Institute Training Center, responsible for the development of young, new talent.
About IMG
IMG is a global leader in sports, fashion and media operating in more than 25 countries around the world. IMG’s businesses include Events Media, College, Golf, Tennis, Performance and IMG Academy, Fashion, Models, Clients, Licensing, Joint Ventures, and creative management agency Art + Commerce. In 2014, IMG was acquired by WME, the world’s leading entertainment and media agency. Together, the companies offer an unparalleled client roster; strategic partnerships with sponsors and brands; and marquee assets across sports, entertainment, events, music and fashion.