Stephens rallies in Miami for first win of 2021; Tiafoe passes Travaglia test

2018 Miami Open champion Sloane Stephens earned her first win of the season the hard way.

Staring down a fifth loss in five matches played in 2021 on Wednesday night at the event she won three years ago, Stephens battled back admirably from a 7-6(6), 4-3 deficit to defeat French qualifier Oceane Dodin, 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-2, to reach the second round.

Having failed to hold onto a break lead at 4-2 in the first set, and losing out on two set points at 6-4 in the ensuing tiebreak, the American escaped from a 15-40 deficit on serve in a crucial eighth game of the second to buoy a comeback efforts under the lights at the WTA 1000 event.

“It was a great match and she played really well by playing some good matches and some good tennis. It’s been a rough one for me lately, so I’m really pleased to get through that, fight my way through it and make it happen somehow,” Stephens said on-court after the match.

With losses by Kristina Mladenovic and Fiona Ferro in the day session and Dodin’s defeat at night, Frenchwomen nonetheless had better fortunes in the form of veterans Alizé Cornet and Caroline Garcia, who boasted contrasting, but safe, passage through to round two.

Cornet was the first to book a spot in the next round thanks to a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 comeback victory over two-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, fresh off a run to the semifinals on home soil at the St. Petersburg Ladies’ Trophy last week.

Elsewhere, it was much easier for former World No.4 Garcia, who needed just 64 minutes to beat Romanian qualifier Mihaela Buzarnescu, 6-1, 6-2, and advance to a second-round meeting with No.3 seed Simona Halep.

Rounding out Wednesday’s news, three-time winner and No. 14 seed Victoria Azarenka moved through to the third round without hitting a ball, as Germany’s Laura Siegemund withdrew due to a right knee injury.

TIAFOE, RUUSUVUORI ADVANCE: Frances Tiafoe was down a set and a break to Stefano Travaglia, but he came roaring back on Wednesday to reach the second round at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The American had to dig deep to turn around the match against Travaglia, saving five of seven break points faced – including four in the second set that would have had the Italian serving for the match. Tiafoe fired 26 winners en route to a battling 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory.

Tiafoe, a quarter-finalist here in 2019, will face No. 19 seed Daniel Evans next – in both singles and doubles. Tiafoe is partnering with Nicholas Monroe and Evans with Neal Skupski for their first-round clash in doubles, while Tiafoe and Evans will fight for a spot in the third round in singles on Friday.

Also in action, Americans Ernesto Escobedo and Marcos Giron booked their spots in the second round with straight-sets victories. Escobedo claimed an all-qualifier contest against Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 6-3, 6-2, while Giron edged past Tommy Paul 7-6(5), 6-4.

Meanwhile, Emil Ruusuvuori stayed cool and weathered a stern test from 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz to triumph 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 in a first-round battle on Wednesday.

Making his debut at the Miami Open presented by Itau, 21-year-old Ruusuvuori fired 16 winners and broke Alcaraz’s serve three times to power into the second round. He will take on third seed Alexander Zverev next.

The Finnish player was competing in ITF events during the most recent edition of this Miami tournament in 2019, but has been steadily rising up the FedEx ATP Rankings to sit at a career-high No. 83.

Elsewhere, qualifier Mackenzie McDonald set up an all-American second-round clash with No. 18 seed John Isner after a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Vasek Pospisil.