Miami Open
10th on the trot as Williams wastes another wild card
VenUs Williams lost her 10th match in a row as the former great lost as a wild card at the Miami Masters first round.
The 45-year-old ranked 517 was given a free entry by Miami organisers. But the gift did little as the seven-time Grand Slam champion was defeated 7-5, 7-5 by Brit Francesca Jones, the world No. 93
Williams also played and lost as a wild card at Indian Wells and won her last match in July and lifted her seventh trophy at a Grand Slam in 2008 – 18 years ago.
The veteran has played Miami 22 times, winning it on three occasions. Jones, was born in 2000, a year in which the Williams career was already fading.
“She’s amazing, it’s phenomenal. People might focus on the fact that she’s lost consecutive matches, but I think we have to recognize that [recently] she’s played some tough three-setters,” Jones said.
“She doesn’t lose the serve [often], and it’s the vital part of the game. Of course, her movement isn’t what it used to be.
“I think there’s no reason she can’t win matches, and I fully believe that she’s at a level where she can compete.
“I just think she just needs to keep going. She’s building.”
Jones recalled watching Wiliams and sister Serena at WImbledon as a child sitting in the stands with her father.
The winner earned her first match win since January and the 17th Tour-level victory of her career. She is the first since 2009 when this record began to record a first 1000-level match win over a former world No 1.
Since the format’s introduction in 2009, Jones is the first player to record a first WTA 1000 match-win over a former World No. 1
Magda Linette delivered a short, sharp shock to fellow Pole Iga Swiatek, sending the former No. 1 out in an opening match 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a first opening-match loss for the world No. 3 in half a decade.
Swiatek let her grip on the second-round match slip with a double-fault to gie a pair of set points to Linette, who took full advantage.
The 34-year-old reached 4-2 in the final set and sealed the win on her fifth match point.
Linette will next line up against Filipina sensation Alexandre Eala, who won the longest match so far in her young career, taking nearly three and a half hours to beat Laura Siegemund, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-3.
Iga Swiatek claimed a WTA trophy for the first time in nearly a year as the former world No. 1 lifted the title at the Toronto Masters on Thursday 6-2, 6-3 over Elena Rybakina.
With her first title since last September in Asia, the six-time Grand Slam winner returned to form.
She also completed a matched set of North American tournaments, with trophy success at Indian Wells (2022, 2024), Miami (2022), US Open (2022), Cincinnati (2025) and now Canada.
She set the record as the youngest to complete the feat.
“I want to dedicate this title to everyone who is dealing with judgment or hate,” Swiatek said.
“Keep pushing, keep growing, keep focusing on yourself and always remember what is ahead and might be possible.”
Since failing to win a title this season, the introverted Pole has come under increasing career pressure, dealing with the stress through her own travelling team psychologist.
But victory in Canada will go a long way to silencing the doubters.
“I’m really happy about this tournament. It means so so much to me,” Swiatek said. “These past months were not easy.
“I’m really happy I kept focusing on growing, changing my game a little bit, improving… despite all the opinions many people have about me every day on the internet.”
She added: “It’s not easy to deal with all of that. I’m happy the reality is different.
“The reality is that I have people that know me so well and people that support me. They’re here to give their best work. Just keep pushing. you know.”
Swiatek will move up from eighth to sixth in the world as a result of her victory while Rybakina remains No. 2 behind Aryna Sabalenka.
Aryna Sabalenka rallied to reach her first semi-final since Miami last March as she called on her “little tiger” to salvage a 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 fightback win over Czech Nikola Bartunkova.
The 20-year-old challenger ranked 62nd was playing only her third WTA quarter-final and gave the world No. 1 plenty of trouble.
Sabalenka won her ninth match of the season over players ranked outside the top 50, but she had to work to get it done in a rollicking final set with five breaks of serve.
“There was a little bit of frustration going on,” the winner said of the third set. “I was really not sure.
“But I tried to find the little tiger inside of me,” the player with a tiger tattoo on her arm said.
“I was not trying for winners as much as trying to stay aggressive.”‘
In the deciding set, Bsrtunkova twice came back from a break down as tension mounted for Sabalenka.
The outsider was broken for 5-4, putting Sabalenka in position to finally serve it out after nearly two and a half hours.
“She played incredible tennis, it’s unbelievable what she is able to do,” Sabalenka said of her opponent.
“I needed to show I had something left. I needed to find a rhythm to come back. She’s a future superstar for sure.”
Sabaelnka moved into a semi against Jessica Pegula, who beat US compatriot Madison Keys 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8).
“It will be a battle, I hope I can make it,” Sabalenka said.
The pair have not played this season, with Sabalenka winning three of their four meetings in 2025.
Jannik Sinner began his quest for an unprecedented fifth straight title at a Masters 1000 tournament with a runaway 6-3, 6-4 start over Stefan Ofner on Saturday in Rome.
The second-round clash between the German-speaking Italian world No. 1 from the former Austrian territory of Alto Adige and an actual Austrian was played in front of a packed-out Campo Centrale with local fans in full voice.
The final three games of the march were twice interrupted by medical emergencies in the stands, resulting in around 20 or more cumulative minutes of delay.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Sinner said. “In the first matches, the most important thing is trying not to lose.
“The level changes day by day. This has always been a special tournament for me.
“Being Italian, you reflect on the year a little bit. I’m happy to be here. Every situation, every week is different I’m trying to get a good match rhythm again.”
Sinner has lifted four straight Masters titles – Paris, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo – and could become the first man to ever win five on the trot. His current Masters win streak was extended to 29 straight.
A title next weekend at the Foro Italico would also complete his career matched set of all nine Masters 1000 titles.
Ofner began with a love game and gave Sinner a challenge but eventually took the loss after his initial flurry of form.
Sinner claimed the opener in 36 minutes and began the second with a break of the 82nd-ranked player who turns 30 on Tuesday.
The Italian, who lost the Rome final 2 months ago to Carlos Alcaraz, finished off the crowd-pleasing win as Ofner could not handle a forehand winner deep into the corner after 91 minutes.
The Italian top seed won his 24th straight ATP match of the season as he advanced while denying Ofner a first win over a top 10 player after a dozen previous losses to the elite.
Main photo:- Jannik sinner won Miami Open in April – by ISF Ltd
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