Birmingham
Miami tosses wildcard lifeline to three big names
The Miami Masters reached back into the archives with a wild card entry for three-time winner Venus Williams with former Grand Slam champions Caroline Wozniacki and Emma Raducanu also benefitting.
Williams 43, now qualifies as a part-timer, with her last appearance on court a first-round loss at the US Open six months ago.
She last reached the second round of a Tour event in 2019 with a grass quarter final in Birmingham nearly half a decade ago.
Williams has always considered Miami a home event, winning the last of her three titles well over two decades ago in 2002.
Wozniacki, who retired from tennis to start a family and is now a mother of two, has been attempting a comeback at age 33 since last summer. The Dane reached the 2017 final and last competed here in the 2019 fourth round.
The 21-year-old Raducanu has fallen flat since a US Open title from a qualifying start in 2021, with the Briton and her family team notorious for changing coaches after only a few months on the job.
No. 252 Raducanu is also aiming at a comeback after missing half of 2023 with injury.
She last played the event a year ago, exiting in the first round on her second Miami appearance.
She stands 3-5 this season, reaching the second round in Auckland, Melbourne and Abu Dhabi, here last time on court earlier this month.
Main photo:- US Open 2023 Wildcard Venus Williams wearing shocking pink “night attire” lost first round match 6-1 6-1 in just one hour 13 minutes. by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
Camila Giorgi put last week’s disappointing loss to Venus Williams on the back burner as the Italian Wimbledon finalist Ons jabeur out in the second round of the Eastbourne tournament on Wednesday.
No. 67 Giorgi showed her particular affinity for the grass courts of the English south coast with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of the Tunisian fourth seed.
Jabeur will head to the All England Club with losses in two of her three preliminary grass matches.
The Italian was defeated last week by the 42-year-old Williams at Birmingham.
Giorgi is looking to reach her third straight semi-final at Eastbourne but will have to get past Jelena Ostapenko after the Latvian who won the Birmingham title at the weekend, defeated Brit Harriet Dart 6-3, 6-4.
“It was not an easy match, it was super windy today,” Ostapenko said.
“After Birmingham, it’s completely different conditions, so it was very tough to get used to it.
“But I think in the deciding moments, I played good and showed my level.”
The winner fired eight aces as she left the host nation without a representative in the draw.
Camila Giorgi put last week’s disappointing loss to Venus Williams on the back burner as the Italian Wimbledon finalist Ons jabeur out in the second round of the Eastbourne tournament on Wednesday.
No. 67 Giorgi showed her particular affinity for the grass courts of the English south coast with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of the Tunisian fourth seed.
Jabeur will head to the All England Club with losses in two of her three preliminary grass matches.
The Italian was defeated last week by the 42-year-old Williams at Birmingham.
Giorgi is looking to reach her third straight semi-final at Eastbourne but will have to get past Jelena Ostapenko after the Latvian who won the Birmingham title at the weekend, defeated Brit Harriet Dart 6-3, 6-4.
“It was not an easy match, it was super windy today,” Ostapenko said.
“After Birmingham, it’s completely different conditions, so it was very tough to get used to it.
“But I think in the deciding moments, I played good and showed my level.”
The winner fired eight aces as she left the host nation without a representative in the draw.
Venus Williams put up a fight but was finally subdued 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 on Thursday by Jelena Ostapenko to exit the WTA Birmingham tournament.
The 43-year-old Williams, who received a wild card singles entry into Wimbledon, forced her Latvian opponent to rally while trailing 0-2, 15-40 in the deciding third set.
“She’s a great champion (who) hasn’t gone (away) anywhere,” Ostpaenko said.
“That’s always going to be with her. It’s great to play against players like her.
“She’s an idol to a lot of people so it was very special. Maybe that’s why I got a little bit tight in the second set.”
Ostapenko’s win kept five-time Wimbledon winner Williams from her first WTA quarter-final since 2019, with the veteran American rallying while trailing 3-5 in the second set and saving a match point.
Williams, who needed a medical timeout off court during the match, had won the pair’s previous two meetings, both played in 2017.
The American was competing for the first time since the start of January in Auckland.
Elina Svitolina on Wednesday was awarded a wild card entry into the Wimbledon main draw, as the Ukrainian competes in London for the first time since becoming a mother.
The No. 73 has been making a return to the Tour after giving birth last October to a daughter with husband Gael Monfils. She lost her only grass match since 2021 this week in Birmingham.
Svitolina’s best performance at the All England Club was a 2019 semi-final.
Also handed a free entry was 43-year-old Venus Williams, champion at Wimbledon five times – most recently in 2008.
The American who had not competed on the WTA since the first days of January earned a surprise win in Birmingham this week over Italian Camila Giorgi.
Local British players received the majority of the free entries for the grass court major starting on July 3.
Women’s wild cards included weekend Nottingham champion Katie Boulter, runner-up Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart, Katie Swan and Heather Watson.
It was equally Brit-centric on the men’s side, with freebies handed to Liam Broady, Jan Choinski, George Loffhagen and Ryan Peniston.
Main photo:- Elina Svitolina celebrates winning third round match at French Open 2023 by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
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