Gauff, Pegula advance to third round in Miami
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Sixth-seeded opened her 2023 Miami Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over on Thursday and advanced to the third round, where she will face 27th-seeded .
After her victory, Gauff, coming off a quarterfinals appearance at Indian Wells, said in a television interview that it wasn't her best outing, despite converting five of her nine break points.
"It was a shaky performance, honestly," Gauff said. "I knew it wasn't going to be a straightforward match, even if I was up a break sometimes."
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Gauff came back from a break down twice in the second set to claim her second career win versus Marino. Gauff defeated Marino in the first round at Roland Garros in 2022.
Gauff said she was a bit nervous playing in her hometown -- she's a native of Delray Beach, Florida, a small city about 40 miles north of Hard Rock Stadium, where the tournament is played. of the was among those in attendance Thursday.
"Jimmy Butler is here so I was a little bit nervous when I saw him," Gauff said with a laugh in her post-match interview. "Playing home is something I look forward to, but it's also a little bit of extra pressure because everyone wants you to do well here."
Gauff's doubles teammate, world No. 3 , beat 6-3, 6-1 and advanced to the third round. She will face fellow American and No. 30 next. Collins defeated on Thursday.
Pegula made the Miami Open semifinals in 2022 and is among the favorites to win the tournament this year after No. 1-ranked and defending champion pulled out of the tournament because of a rib injury.
No. 21 won 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2 against in a match that lasted 2 hours, 51 minutes. Badosa will face either , who defeated Badosa en route to the Indian Wells title, or .
Badosa hit with a ball kid during the match to stay warm after Siegemund called for a medical timeout and left the court for treatment, which took nearly 15 minutes.
No. 14-seeded beat 6-3, 6-1 to reach the third round, where she will face No. 20 .
Azarenka has the second-most career wins at the Miami Open among active women with 38. The mark trails only , who has 67. The 33-year-old Azarenka won the tournament in 2009, 2011 and 2016.
In other action, eliminated No. 8 seed 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to advance and face No. 29 next; No. 23 picked up a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over ; and No. 13 seed defeated 7-6 (4), 0-6, 6-0.
