The top seeded Simona Halep surprisingly missed the round of the Miami Open. The Romanian lost to Agnieszka Radwanska from Poland 6:3, 2:6, 3:6.
Halep, who had suffered a ankle injury in recent months, had already had a hard time in her opening game and needed three sets to advance against Oceane Dodin from France. It was the first victory against a number one in six years for 2012’s Miami Champion Radwanska, seeded 30th. The 29-year-old seems to like the Premier Mandatory Tournament in Crandon Park: in her twelfth appearance Radwanska is in the last 16th round for the tenth time.
There, the former Wimbledon finalist will meet either Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia/No. 20) or two-time Major winner Victoria Azarenka on Monday. For Halep (26), who lost the 2018 Australian Open final to Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) by a narrow margin, it was her first defeat against an opponent who is not in the top 20 in Miami.
Former number one Karolina Pliskova also had trouble: The Czech, who was seeded in fifth place, needed 2:24 hours before the 6:4, 1:6, 7:6 (7:4) against Su-Wei Hsieh from Taiwan.