Czech Women Dominate Fourth Round of Miami Open

On Sunday at the Miami Open, three Czech Republican women advanced to the fourth round of the tournament: Petra Kvitova, Barbora Krejcikova, and Marketa Vondrousova.

Petra Kvitova, the 15th seed, faced the 22nd-seeded Donna Vekic in the third round. The match lasted almost an hour and 40 minutes, and Kvitova won in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(3). The two-time Wimbledon winner won 71% of her first-serve points to Vekicā€™s 68%. Although neither player was able to save any break point they faced, Kvitova made good of three break point chances that came her way while she lost two break points during the proceedings. Kvitova hit 19 winners, five more than Vekicā€™s 14. Both players had 19 unforced errors each. In the round-of-16, Kvitova will play Varvara Gracheva, who won 6-1, 6-2 against Magdalena Frech in 70 minutes.

Barbora Krejcikova, the 16th seed, faced the 19th seed Madison Keys in her third-round match, which lasted an hour and 52 minutes. Krejcikova won 7-6(4), 6-3. The 2021 French Open champion saved eight of the 10 break points she faced while converting three of five break points on the Americanā€™s serve. Krejcikova finished the match with 86 points, seven more than Keysā€™ 79. In the next round, Krejcikova will face second seed Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Krejcikovaā€™s compatriot, 31st seed Marie Bouzkova in their round-of-32 meeting. After merely 67 minutes of play, the world no. 2 clinched a 6-1, 6-2 victory for herself.

Marketa Vondrousova won the Czech derby against 17th seed Karolina Pliskova in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 in just 52 minutes. Vondrousova’s opponent in the next round will be Sorana Cirstea, who took out Vondrousovaā€™s fellow countrywoman, Karolina Muchova, 7-5, 6-1.

In other matches, Bianca Andreescu won 6-4, 6-4 against Sofia Kenin to advance to the fourth round. Meanwhile, Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated Belinda Bencic in straight sets 7-6(8), 6-3 to advance to the next round.

Photo Credit: Petra Kvitova Twitter