CiCi Bellis defeated Indy de Vroome of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-2 at the Miami Open on Tuesday for her second career WTA main draw match win.
The 15-year-old Bellis defeated the 227th-ranked
De Vroome in one of 12 women’s main draw matches played on the opening day.
Photo: EPA
The 211th-ranked Bellis made news at the US Open last year when she upset 12th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, the Australian Open finalist that year, in three sets in the first round.
In the Miami Open second round, Bellis faces 29th-seeded Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan.
The 44th-ranked Madison Brengle of the US also advanced on Tuesday posting a 6-0, 6-2 win against Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia. Brengle is to play fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.
Monica Niculescu of Romania outlasted American Shelby Rogers 7-6 (7/1), 6-1 to secure a second consecutive, second-round match against top-seeded Serena Williams. The two played at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, with Williams prevailing 7-5, 7-5 in a match that spanned just over two hours.
In other matches on Tuesday, Kaia Kanepi defeated Canadian wild-card Francoise Abanda 6-2, 6-3, Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia defeated Polona Hercog of Slovenia 6-3, 6-2 and Karin Knapp of Italy defeated Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-0.
Paula Badosa Gibert beat Petra Cetkovska 6-1, 6-1; Johanna Larsson beat Yaroslava Shvedova 6-4, 7-6 (7/4); Kristina Mladenovic downed Klara Koukalova 6-4, 6-4; and Tereza Smitkova defeated Natalia Vikhlyantseva 0-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Bojana Jovanovski beat Mona Barthel 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and Kurumi Nara defeated Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-3.
Meanwhile, world No. 3 Simona Halep says it is hard to imagine reaching the top of the world rankings as long as Serena is playing the game, but says she has what it takes to win a Grand Slam.
The Romanian is coming off the biggest success of her career so far with a victory over Jelena Jankovic in the final at Indian Wells on Sunday.
The win was the third of the year for the 23-year-old following victories in Shenzhen and Dubai, and while she is firmly entrenched as No. 3, behind Serena and Maria Sharapova, she says getting to top spot may be a step too far.
“When Serena is No. 1, its hard to think of being No. 1, but still I have confidence that I can win more titles and reach a higher ranking,” Halep told reporters on Tuesday.
The Miami Open has almost become the personal property of the Williams sisters, who live in nearby Palm Beach Garden and have won the event 10 times between them, Serena lifting the title on seven occasions and Venus three.
Still, Halep, who has never ventured past the third round in Miami, does not believe that Serena is unbeatable.
“She [Serena] is very strong, she is a great champion, she has been up there for many years. She knows how to manage every situation,” Halep said. “I admire her a lot and learnt many things from her.”
“After the first match at Indian Wells, I told my coach that I really wanted to play her in the semi-finals, but it didn’t happen because of her injury,” Halep said. “I really want to meet her many times, because I become stronger after I play her.”
Halep has her eyes on becoming the first Romanian woman since her manager, Virginia Ruzici, French Open winner in 1978, to secure a Grand Slam title.
“I can say I feel ready because I just won a premier tournament, which is almost like a Grand Slam, but still I am very far and I just want to be very focused,” she said. “My dream is to win a Grand Slam. I don’t know if it will happen in this life, but I just want to work hard every day to reach a [major] title.”
Halep’s climb up the rankings has attracted little fanfare, but she laughs at the idea that she is a rising star in the game.
“I’m not young,” the 24-year-old Romanian said. “I am already older. I am used to being in the top; I have a year there. I have experience and feel ready to play with everyone at every tournament.”
South Korean giants T1, led by “Faker,” won their fifth League of Legends (LoL) world championship crown in London on Saturday, beating China’s Bilibili Gaming (BLG) in a thrilling final. The teams were locked at 2-2 at a packed O2 arena, but T1 clinched game five to make it back-to-back titles after nearly four hours of tense action. China’s BLG started strongly, taking the first game before T1 struck back to level. The Chinese team pulled ahead again at 2-1 only for their opponents to hit back again and go on to take the decider. Faker, who won the Most
The Major League Baseball World Series trophy is headed to Los Angeles, but the party is extending all the way to Japan. People milled around local train stations yesterday morning in Tokyo as newspaper extras were ready to roll off the presses, proclaiming Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as world champions along with their Dodgers teammates after a stirring Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees. The 30-year-old is a national hero in Japan whose face adorns billboards and TV adverts all over the country. Ohtani this year became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and
Amber Glenn overcame a fall and her own doubts to win a maiden Grand Prix figure skating title on Saturday at the Grand Prix de France. The American skater had the lead from Friday’s short program. That and the support of the crowd got her through a tough free skate in which she fell on a triple flip and put a hand onto the ice to steady herself on two other jumps. “I didn’t feel that great out there today, but I really tried, and the audience really got me through that last half when I was doubting myself,” Glenn
WORLD SERIES: ‘The individuals that were involved in that last night was a very small segment of the east Los Angeles community,’ the Los Angeles county sheriff said Rowdy crowds took to the streets of Los Angeles after the LA Dodgers won the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series, setting a city bus on fire, breaking into stores and lighting fireworks. A dozen arrests were reported by police on Thursday, but officials said that most fans celebrated peacefully. Video showed revelers throwing objects at police in downtown LA as sirens blared and officers told them to leave the area on Wednesday night after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the MLB World Series at Giants Stadium in New York. Another video showed someone standing atop
RSS