Serena Williams’ quest for a ninth Miami title faces its biggest test on Monday when she plays former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The world No.1 booked her place in the last sixteen in Miami after beating Zarina Diyas 7-5, 6-3, to register her 750th win on the WTA Tour. Meanwhile, Kuznetsova outlasted France’s Caroline Garcia during a two-and-a-half-hour marathon.
The upcoming third round match will be the 11th meeting between the two. Williams currently has a dominating head-to-head lead of 8-2 against the Russian. The last time she lost to Kuznetsova was in the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open. Despite boasting a strong record against the former world No.2, the top seed is aware of the danger she faces.
“It’s a great matchup,” Williams said. “She plays well and makes a lot of the great shots. She’s actually been playing well this year. She had a couple big wins and couple good tournaments.
“Yeah, I have my work cut out for me. We’ll see what happens.”
Unlike Williams, the 30-year-old already has a title to her name this year. At the Sydney International, Kuznetsova defeated Monica Puig in the final to clinch her 16th WTA title. Since her triumph in Sydney, the Russian has struggled on the tour with early losses at three consecutive tournaments. This week Kuznetsova won back-to-back matches in the same tournament for the first time in two months.
The match will be a case of deja vu for both women, who also played each other in the fourth round of the tournament last year. On that occasion Williams took the match in straight sets.
Williams is bidding to become the first woman in history to win the Miami Open on nine separate occasions. This year is her 16th appearance in Miami and she currently holds a win-loss record of 75-7 (a 91% winning rate) at the premier tournament.
2015 Miami Open – Serena Williams Vs Svetlana Kuznetsova highlights
