KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka overcame five double-faults and held every service game to beat qualifier Magda Linette 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday at the Miami Open.
Azarenka, seeded 13th, moved into the fourth round and is bidding to become only the third woman to win Indian Wells and Miami back to back.
Floridian Madison Keys, seeded No. 22, reached the round of 16 for the first time in seven tournament appearances by beating No. 9 Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-4. Keys won 19 of 21 points at the net.
No. 2 Angelique Kerber rallied past qualifier Kiki Bertens, who retired trailing 1-6, 6-2, 3-0.
In men’s play, lucky loser Horacio Zeballos reached the fourth round by saving a match point and beating Fernandez Verdasco 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Zeballos lost in qualifying but made the draw when Roger Federer withdrew because of a stomach virus.
No. 7 Tomas Berdych erased all 10 break points he faced and defeated American Steve Johnson 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3. Johnson, seeded 31st, fell to 0-13 against top-10 opponents.
Richard Gasquet, seeded 10th, beat No. 20 Benoit Paire in an all-French matchup, 6-3, 6-0. No. 14 Dominic Thiem defeated qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-2. No. 15 David Goffin eliminated No. 19 Viktor Troicki 6-1, 6-1.
STEVEN WINE