(1) Serena Williams (USA #1) vs (12) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP #12)
Like Flavia Pennetta and Sara Errani before her, Carla Suárez Navarro has evolved from being a clay court specialist. While she grew up on dirt and likely still holds special affection for it, the diminutive 26-year-old is becoming a significant threat on hardcourts.
Her win over Maria Sharapova at the Rogers Cup last year perhaps foreshadowed what was to come this year. Playing exclusively on hardcourts to start 2015, her victims have included Karolina Pliskova, Ekaterina Makarova, Sabine Lisicki, Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanska,
Venus Williams and Andrea Petkovic. The victory this week over Williams, arguably, was the one that impressed the most. Here she was, facing the overwhelming crowd favorite in Miami and down a set (and a bageled one at that).
Yet in another example this season of Suárez Navarro's comfortableness on hardcourts, battling qualities and increased belief, she found a way to turn it around - admittedly aided by some unforced errors from the three-time Miami Open champ. As Suárez Navarro tweeted Thursday following her semifinal win, she takes it 'step by step, point by point.' Serena Williams, meanwhile, entered Miami under a cloud of uncertainty, having pulled out of her semifinal in Indian Wells against Simona Halep due to a knee injury.
She remained in the Miami draw, however, and the knee was put to the test in her opener (another opener) against Monica Niculescu, Halep's fellow Romanian who often makes opponents cover every inch of the court.
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