Miami Open tennis

Rain delays have really put a damper on a great Miami Open thus far, but we're marching on with more action on Friday, March 31st. I have two tennis best ...

The lefty had to play her quarter-final match against Ekaterina Alexandrova Thursday afternoon, and she now must turn around and play a red-hot Cirstea on Friday afternoon. That has been a part of her game that has been missing in the past, but she’s going to have a great shot at winning this match if she can hold serve relatively easily. That has to be draining both physically and mentally, and Khachanov has been playing some great tennis this week. It took Medvedev only an hour and 18 minutes to beat Khachanov in Australia, but this one should be a bit more competitive. I'll be doing some more research on that meeting between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, and I would like to have a play on that one eventually. With that out of the way, keep reading for the tennis picks for Friday!

Elena Rybakina moved to within one win of becoming the fifth woman to sweep the Sunshine Double after fending off No.3 Jessica Pegula to advance to the ...

"Against Petra I played in the beginning of the year, and she played really well, but it was much faster courts there," Rybakina said. "So I maybe risked a bit more even in the end of the second set." In all, Rybakina reeled off the final four games of the match to seal the win after 1 hour and 51 minutes. Rybakina holds a 1-1 record against Kvitova and a 2-0 record against Cirstea. Already the Hologic WTA Tour's ace leader, she is the first woman since Serena Williams to fire 10 or more aces in five consecutive matches at a single tournament. Frustrated by her inability to keep Rybakina at bay on her own service games, Pegula began to misfire, giving the reigning Wimbledon chance a foothold for her comeback. When play resumed, Pegula dug out of a 0-40 hole in her opening service game and then consolidated yet another break for a 3-0 lead. Despite struggling with her energy levels, Rybakina found herself swinging freely whenever she fell behind in the scoreline. "Jessica, she played really well some moments," Rybakina said. MIAMI -- World No.7 Elena Rybakina tallied her 13th consecutive victory by defeating No.3 Jessica Pegula 7-6(3), 6-4 to advance to her second straight final at the Miami Open. Pegula broke Rybakina three times in the opening set and served for it twice at 5-4 and 6-5. Rybakina's victory was her first win over the American, having dropped their previous two meetings.