What stress, between wasted lead breaks and missed match points. But at the end of the longest match of the year Camila Giorgi snatches the pass for the second round of the “Miami Open”, third WTA 1000 of the season (combined with the second ATP Masters 1000 of 2022) with a prize pool of 8,800,000 which is being contested on the Hard Rock Stadium hard courts (the “home” of the Miami Dolphins of NFL football), in Florida, e that SuperTennis (and SuperTennix) broadcasts live and exclusively.
The 31-year-old from Maceratan.44 del ranking, batted 76(4) 67(4) 76(4), after a battle of three hours and 32 minutesl’estone Kaia Hemp, n. 57 WTA. Camila scored 11 aces but also 14 double faults, 6 of which in the second half of the decisive set and won the same number of points – 135 – as her opponent.
A three-tiebreak SLUGFEST ??
Camila Giorgi edges Kanepi 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 7-6(4) to reach Round 2 in Miami!#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/HGCRhwUYI9
— wta (@WTA) March 21, 2023
The Marches woman had won the only previous match with the 37-year-old from Haapsalu in straight sets, played in the decisive round of the qualifiers on indoor red clay in Stuttgart in 2016. Camila’s sprint start, who in first set missing three opportunities for the 4-0 with double break (3-1). The blue, who continues to serve too many seconds, in the seventh game with a forehand that looks more like a smash cancels the first point break allowed in the match and then goes up 5-2.
In the ninth game Giorgi wastes a set-point by chasing the forehand into the net and then, again with the forehand, he concedes the counter-break (5-4). Kanepi grabs it again on 5 all and in the twelfth game he saves a second set-point with the forehand of the blue that ends up on the net again. The tie-break decides: the Estonian goes ahead 3-0 but then wins only one of the next eight points and Giorgi closes 7 to 4.
Camila takes a break of advantage also in the second fraction and confirms it (2-0). In the sixth game she recovers from 15-40 and goes up 4-2 but in the eighth two double faults cost her the counter-break (4-4). In the twelfth game Giorgi cancels a set-point and it is still the tie-break that decides: the blue maintains command of the operations until 4-3 but then loses all the last four points and the 37-year-old from Haapsalu closes 7 to 4 balancing the bill.
