By Justin Ross
The Miami Open has a new champion and her name is Johanna Konta.
In today’s women’s final, the 10th seed Konta became the tournament’s 14th different champion when she defeated No. 12 seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-3.
After a win in Sydney, this is Konta’s second title of 2017 and the third of her career. She becomes the first British woman to win the Miami Open.
“You guys are incredible, not just today, throughout the whole week. Miami is such an energetic city and you guys bring that into these stadiums and it makes it a pleasure to play here,” Konta told the crowd.
Over the course of the tournament, Konta spent nearly 2 more hours in court time than her opponent, but the Brit’s dominating performance showed no signs of fatigue.
In the first set, the No. 10 seed had an answer for every move.
Wozniacki didn’t register a point until the second game where she dug herself a 2-0 hole. The Dane fought back to make the set 2-2, but it was Konta’s turn to take another two-game lead.
Wozniacki displayed a valiant effort to pressure the British star, but playing from behind on a big stage proved to be too difficult. After Wozniacki made it 4-4, she slammed her racket on the net during a pivotal ninth-game loss. From there, Konta took the set 6-4.
At the conclusion of the set, Konta had 15 more winners and she was 3-of-3 on break points.
The second set played out in similar fashion. After Wozniacki took a 3-2 lead, it looked like she might force a decider, but the British star showed strong composure. Three straight wins ended the set at 6-3 and the match.
Konta finished the contest with 33 winners compared to just 8 for Wozniacki.
The Brit is now 2-0 in all-time play against Wozniacki. Their only other meeting came in January when Konta took an Australian Open win 6-3, 6-1.
Wozniacki’s record falls to 23-7 on the season, while Konta jumps to 19-3. Prior to the finals, Wozniacki had conceded just one set during the tournament.
“I tried my best. I tried to fight. She played really aggressively. She played well,” Wozniacki said. “You know, I kind of gave the game away at 4-All in the first set, and then missed a couple break points at 4-5. Those are the ones that you need to take if you want to win a match like this.”
Over the course of the week, both women defeated higher-ranked players on the way to the finals. Konta beat world No. 5 Simona Halep in the quarterfinals, while Wozniacki defeated world No. 3 Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals.
The British star’s other Miami wins were over Venus Williams, Lara Arruabarrena, Pauline Parmentier, and Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
This was the second consecutive time in Miami two double-digit seeds reached the women’s final. In 2016, No. 13 Victoria Azarenka beat No. 15 Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Next week, Konta will rise to a career-high No. 7 in the WTA rankings. Wozniacki will rise to No. 12. Konta also rises to No. 2 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
“I just want to work and try to really bring out in myself the most that I have. Wherever that gets me that’s where it will get me, but hopefully the day I hang up my racquets I will be able to say that I really maximized my full ability and, my, yeah, everything inside me, ” said the champion.
The women’s doubles final will commence Sunday. The No. 3 seeded team of Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova will take on the team of Yifan Xu and Gabriela Dabrowski.
Check out the full results here: https://www.miamiopen.com/live-scoring-2017
Check out the schedule of match play here: https://www.miamiopen.com/2017-draws-and-order-of-play
About the Miami Open presented by Itaú
The 2017 Miami Open will be played March 20-April 2 at the Crandon Tennis Center in Miami. The two-week combined event is owned and operated by IMG. The Miami Open is one of nine ATP Masters 1000 Series events on the ATP calendar, a Premier Mandatory event on the WTA calendar, and features the top men’s and women’s tennis players in the world. The tournament is widely regarded as the most glamorous on the ATP and WTA calendars because of its exotic Miami location, thriving nightlife, five-star hotels and restaurants, beautiful weather and beaches, and its celebrity appeal. For ticket information, call +1.305.442.3367 or visit www.miamiopen.com.
About Itaú
Itau is the largest Latin America privately owned bank, with approximately 95,000 employees and operations in 20 countries throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe. Itaú’s relationship with sport goes back to the 1970s, when Itaú first sponsored the Itaú Tennis Cup in Brazil in 1970. Itaú has been a sponsor of the Miami Open for the last six years, and also sponsors the Rio Open, the only combined ATP/WTA event in South America. Itaú also supports the Brazilian Women’s Tennis Circuit, only female professional tournament in South America, certified by the Brazilian Tennis Confederation (CBT) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF), as well as the Tennis Institute Training Center, responsible for the development of young, new talent.
About IMG
IMG is a global leader in sports, fashion and media operating in more than 25 countries around the world. IMG’s businesses include Events Media, College, Golf, Tennis, Performance and IMG Academy, Fashion, Models, Clients, Licensing, Joint Ventures, and creative management agency Art + Commerce. In 2014, IMG was acquired by WME, the world’s leading entertainment and media agency. Together, the companies offer an unparalleled client roster; strategic partnerships with sponsors and brands; and marquee assets across sports, entertainment, events, music and fashion.
