Kazakhstani tennis players Elena Rybakina and Yulia Putintseva qualified for the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 Miami Open tennis tournament with prize money of 8.8 million dollars.
The 4th-seeded Elena Rybakina prevailed in the fourth round over Madison Keys (USA) with 2-0 (6:3, 7:5) in 84 minutes of play. Elena Rybakina, who played in the final of the tournament a year ago, was almost faultless on her serve and allowed Madison Keys only one break, which happened in the middle of the second set. For the rest of the match, Elena Rybakina controlled the game completely and had no major difficulties.
Elena Rybakina will face Maria Sakkari (Greece) for a place in the semi-finals. The Greek tennis player reached this stage without playing after her opponent Anna Kalinskaya (Russia) withdrew due to injury.
Another tennis player from Kazakhstan, Yulia Putintseva, will also play in the quarterfinals. The 29-year-old Yulia Putintseva presented one of the surprises, prevailing over Anhelina Kalinina (Ukraine) with 2-0 (6:4, 7:6) after 2:21 hours of play.
Anhelina Kalinina may regret not being able to take at least the second set, as in it she led with a break, had two set points on Yulia Putintseva’s serve, and twice led with a mini-break in the tiebreak. Yulia Putintseva, however, showed her unrelenting character and managed to turn the second set, thus closing the match.
In the quarterfinals, Yulia Putintseva will face Victoria Azarenka (Belarus), who eliminated Katie Boulter (Great Britain) after 2-0 (7:5, 6:1).