Between serves, all that could be heard throughout the court was the palm leaves hitting the trees due to the cool Miami breeze. Near silence interrupted by stomping feet and roaring chants, “Hailey, Hailey, Hailey.” Playing down to the last second with a fixed and steady determination, American player Hailey Baptiste swung her fists in the air and was declared the winner over Russian Daria Kasatkina, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
The Miami Open has had a theme of exciting matchups all day long between Coco Gauff’s victory over Sofia Kenin to Aryna Sabalenka’s reign over Viktoriya Tomova. This match was no different, with No. 98 Baptiste edging out No. 12 Kasatkina for a perfectly unexpected victory. Between the entertainment, food and shopping, nothing was more interesting than the passion during this match.
Baptiste had several swings above 117 mph and dove from one end of the court to another with nothing but focus. Kasatkina appeared more and more frustrated throughout the match, even covering her face with her hands at one moment.
Kasatkina and Baptiste have faced off once before. Their last meeting was in Seoul in the Korea Open, where the outcome favored Kasatkina. This match in Miami makes for their second encounter on the WTA.
The American won against Serbian Olga Danilović (6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1) in the Miami Masters opener ahead of her victory. This win was her first of the season against a top-50-ranked player. She leveled the match with a tiebreaker win in the second set and finally clinched the contest by losing merely one game in the third set. This followed an uphill climb through the Indian Wells Masters. At the Indian Wells, she progressed to the Round of 64, but that was the last of it due to fellow American Danielle Collins.
Kasatkina, on the other hand, has faced a lack of victories in the past few weeks. Her entry into the Miami Open followed a draining second-round defeat in Indian Wells, despite a hard-fought victory over Sofia Kenin. Her efforts were overthrown when Liudmila Samsonova rallied to defeat her from a one-set lead in the second round.
This match showcased Baptiste’s resilience and drive. After losing the first set, Baptiste was able to break Kasatkina’s serve and hold her own. Diving across the hard court, she never lost sight of her hunger for victory.
Considering that The Miami Open features a total prize money pool of $8,963,700, the stakes are high for all players involved. This win will continue to grow Baptiste’s confidence, which can lead to many future exciting performances. This win was met with cheering fans and supporters and an excited Baptiste, who stuck her tongue out to the crowd as she exited the court. Fans who had been watching her practice in Orlando surrounded the exiting side of the court and expressed their pride and excitement over her win.
Baptiste will now go on to face No. 61 Naomi Osaka, who defeated Russian player Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 6-4. Osaka has had a triumphant week with her win on Tuesday over Yuliia Starodubtseva, which was her first since the Australian Open in January. Being that this recent win was Baptiste’s first win of the season against a top-20-ranked player, she has now gotten her chance to showcase her skills against experienced players, and her skills will continue to be tested on Sunday.