Americans in Miami—Collins, Giron advance; Stephens ends drought

It was a mixed bag of results for Americans at the Miami Open on Wednesday. Here’s a rundown of how Day 2 of main-draw action went down.

Opening play on Grandstand, Danielle Collins had no problem advancing past Kristina Mladenovic, 6-3, 6-3. Making her first appearance since Adelaide, Collins won 82 percent of her first-serve points and swung freely on return, breaking the Frenchwoman six times from eight opportunities to level their head-to-head series to 1-1. The 27-year-old finished with 27 winners to 23 unforced errors.

“I just went out there and tried to do a little bit better than last time,” Collins told Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj. “I was really persistent about my game plan and kind of stuck with it the entire way through. There wasn’t really any hesitancy. I kept going after it and that’s exactly what I wanted to do.”

A semifinalist at this event in 2018, Collins will next take on No. 32 seed Veronika Kudermetova in a first-time meeting. The two are separated by just three ranking spots, with the Russian in front at No. 37.

“I’m certainly used to these conditions being from Florida, so I guess I have that advantage,” said Collins. “I think she’s a really tough player. I’ll going to have to watch some of her matches and do some homework. Hopefully I’ll have some fans on my side when I come out and play.”

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Sara Sorribes Tormo continued her March to remember with a stunning comeback against Bernarda Pera. Coming in, Sorribes Tormo picked up her first WTA singles title in Guadalajara and followed it up with a semifinal showing in Monterrey, falling to eventual champion Leylah Fernandez.

Pera looked primed to run away with their third set by building a 5-1 lead. Yet, two match points came and went, and Sorribes Tormo chipped away at the deficit to ultimately win the final six games for a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory. It’s the second time the Spaniard prevailed over Pera this season, having taken their second-round encounter in Abu Dhabi—a match that was dramatic in its own way after lasting three hours and 23 minutes.

During the night session, 2018 champion Sloane Stephens snapped a five-match losing streak after turning the tide to topple Oceane Dodin, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-2. The win marked her first since September 29, 2020, when she defeated Vitalia Diatchenko in the first round of Roland Garros. At her previous 22 tournaments, Stephens has managed to win consecutive matches just twice, at 2019 Wuhan and the 2020 US Open. Countrywoman Amanda Anisimova, the No. 28 seed, awaits.

In a battle of compatriots, Marcos Giron emerged victorious, 7-6 (5), 6-4, versus Tommy Paul. Facing off for the first time at an ATP-level tournament, Giron erased all seven break points he faced. Serving at 4-4 in the second set, Paul unsuccessfully rushed the net in three successive points, the middle portion of a stretch that saw Giron claim the last 10 points of the contest to advance after one hour and 55 minutes.

Sam Querrey’s Miami woes added another chapter when he was eliminated by world No. 1020 Yen-Hsun Lu, 6-3, 6-4. The 37-year-old Lu, who gained entry with a protected ranking of No. 71, clinched his first-tour level win since October 2017 when he won his opener in Tokyo. Querrey dropped to 10-15 at the tournament.

Elsewhere, Mackenzie McDonald set up a showdown with John Isner after solving Vasek Pospisil, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, and Ernesto Escobedo defeated Paolo Lorenzi, 6-3, 6-2. Steve Johnson went down to former University of Southern California teammate Yannick Hanfmann, 7-5, 6-2, and Emilio Nava was beaten by Dubai finalist Lloyd Harris, 6-4, 7-6 (9).