Elena Rybakina’s bid to bag the vaunted Sunshine Double fell agonisingly short as she lost to veteran Petra Kvitova in the final of the Miami Open.
Not only did Kvitova snap Rybakina’s impressive 13-match winning run on the WTA Tour, but she also claimed the 30th singles title of her career.
Meanwhile, the American duo of Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula have made their way to the Miami Open doubles final after two comeback wins in the space of a single day.
Read on below as SBOTOP summarises the last bits of Miami Open 2023 news from the WTA Tour.
Petra Kvitova captures 30th career title with Miami Open win
Petra Kvitova spoiled Elena Rybakina’s bid to capture the Sunshine Double as the Czech came out on top in the Miami Open final, 7-6(14), 6-2.
It was the Czech’s 30th career WTA Tour title and her ninth WTA 1000 title. Moreover, the 33-year-old became the oldest Miami Open champion since Serena Williams in 2015, and she will return to the top 10 of the WTA Tour rankings for the first time since September 2021.
Kvitova and Rybakina both held serve for the first eight games of the match, but Kvitova broke first to take a 5-4 lead. However, she was unable to close out the first set as Rybakina broke back to force a tiebreak.
The two went on to play an epic tiebreak, and after 67 gruelling minutes as well as five set points saved, Kvitova came out on top to take the set 16-14.
After losing her first tiebreak of the season – she was 7-0 heading into the final – Rybakina quickly fell down a 3-0 hole in the second set. And despite Rybakina’s best efforts to stay in the match, she was ultimately unsuccessful in her comeback attempt as Kvitova closed out the match in just 1 hour and 42 minutes.
“I think nobody really expected this,” Kvitova said. “Not me, not my team, I would say. I really enjoyed this sunshine double – already in Indian Wells I got in good form. I’m happy I’m injury free and, oh my God, I made it.”
Rybakina reflects on Miami Open final defeat, snapped win streak
After emerging victorious at Indian Wells, the Miami Open 2023 odds had Elena Rybakina favoured in the tournament. However, the Kazakh could not quite clinch the Sunshine Double as her winning streak was snapped at 13 matches.
But despite the disappointment of falling just short in Miami, Rybakina was overall pleased with her performance during the Sunshine Double and her now-ended win streak.
“Just happy with two weeks overall,” Rybakina said in her postmatch press conference. “Not so happy with the second set of course, but I think it’s still [been] one positive month here in U.S.
“I think Iga [Swiatek’s 2022 winning] streak was the longest, which I remember, and it’s not easy at all. Obviously it’s gonna come the day you’re gonna lose, so I don’t really count on that.”
Thanks to her win streak, which included her big win at Indian Wells, Rybakina has now risen to No 7 in the WTA Tour rankings. The Kazakh will now look to carry that form over to the clay-court portion of the season.
Gauff-Pegula pairing reaches Miami Open doubles final
Jessica Pegula lost to Rybakina in straight sets during the semi-finals of the Miami Open women’s singles tournament, but the American – along with her partner Coco Gauff – has made the doubles final after a frenetic day of action.
Pegula and Gauff scored back-to-back comeback wins in a single day to book their ticket to the final, where they will face Leylah Fernandez and Taylor Townsend.
Due to rain delays, Pegula and Gauff had the tough task of playing both the quarter-final and semi-final on the same day.
But the American duo were up to the task as they defeated No 6 seeds Elise Mertens and Storm Hunter 6-7(4), 7-5, [10-2] in the quarter-finals and No 8 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in the semis.
Pegula and Gauff will now move on to face American Taylor Townsend and former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez in the final. The two needed a comeback of their own to defeat Magda Linette and Bernarda Pera 1-6 6-2 [14-12] in their semi-final.
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