Petra Kvitova 5-7, 6-7 Ekaterina Makarova
Kvitova
and Makarova faced off many times in their career, with Makarova winning their
last encounter in a tough straight sets win at the Miami Open. It was a
blockbuster 2nd round encounter as both players were ranked in the
Top 10 in the last year, but Makarova had some injury problems and soon fell
out of the Top 10.
In the
match that was greatly affected by many rain delays, Makarova got off to a
great start by winning the first set 7-5 after losing her lead late in the
first set.
In the 2nd
set, it was Kvitova who managed to earn set points first, but Makarova
maintained her composure to hold her service and brought the set into a
tiebreak to decide the matters. Makarova came through the tiebreak after
Kvitova made some unforced errors to gift the match to Makarova.
It was a
confidence-boosting win for Makarova, who earned her 2nd win over
Kvitova this year, and defeat her on her best surface.