Heather Watson eases past Sloane Stephens in Miami
Friday 25 March 2016 16:16, UK
Heather Watson is through to round three of the Miami Open after a dominant 6-3 6-0 victory over 20th-seed Sloane Stephens.
The British player trailed 3-1 in the first set but then reeled off 11 games in a row to claim the victory, winning an astonishing 16 consecutive points during the second set.
A tight match looked on the cards early on and it was Stephens who had the better of the early exchanges, the American breaking to lead 2-1 and then holding serve.
However, the unforced errors then began to flow from Stephens while the in-form Watson, who won the Monterrey Open earlier this month, was very solid from the back of the court.
Having broken back and then moved into a 4-3 lead, she earned two more break points with a fine forehand into the corner, and it was 5-3 when Stephens netted.
And Watson then held serve to take the opener when an increasingly forlorn Stephens lashed a forehand into the net.
It was one-way traffic in set two, as Watson backed up an early break and then embarked on her long run of winning points which took her to 5-0, 30-0.
One point in particular summed things up, as Stephens did well to chase down a drop shot, only to find Watson was perfectly placed to put away a winning volley.
The American did manage to win a point in the final game but she then went wide twice in a row to end the match after just 62 minutes.
Watson finished with 12 winners and unforced errors, while a below-par Stephens hit seven winners against 31 unforced errors.
The Brit advances to face Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer, who had a good win herself, beating 11th-seed Lucie Safarova 6-2 6-3.
Serena Williams began her bid for a ninth Key Biscayne title with a hard-fought victory over fellow American Christina McHale.
The top seed has not lost at the tournament since the 2012 quarter-finals but was made to work by McHale, before eventually prevailing 6-3 5-7 6-2.
Williams let a match point in the second set slip away and lost five consecutive games at one point to fall 1-0 behind in the decider, but regrouped and eventually clinched victory with her 13th ace of the match.
