Iga Swiatek's hopes of completing the Sunshine Double were ended by an outstanding display of hitting by Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Many felt the world No. 1 was a big favourite to win the title after her triumph in Indian Wells. This feeling grew even more when the US Open champion Coco Gauff was knocked out by Caroline Garcia.
However, the Pole's previous match in Miami was an incredibly tough one. Swiatek narrowly overcame Linda Noskova after a very tough battle against the player she lost to at his year's Australian Open.
Alexandrova possesses the powerful playing style that Swiatek does not enjoy. Nonetheless, the scale of Alexandrova's dominance and superiority stunned everyone watching inside the stadium.
The Russian showed her intent from the very first game of the match. She broke Swiatek's serve in the opening game, with Alexandrova attacking her opponent's second-serve and showing no fear.
A key moment occurred when Swiatek had a break point in the sixth game but was unable to convert it. This turned out to be the only chance to break Swiatek had during the entire match.
One break was all that Alexandrova needed to serve out the set and take a 6-4 lead. Many will have expected a response from the world No. 1. However, Alexandrova's game then reached extraordinary heights in the next set.
Swiatek was left completely helpless as Alexandrova barely missed a shot in the second set. The Russian was crashing return winners off the first-serve of Swiatek and played some of the best tennis of her career so far.
This was matched with huge serving, creating a combination that was too much for Swiatek to handle. Alexandrova won four games in a row to race into a 5-1 lead and leave her on the brink of victory.
Swiatek held serve one more time but it did not matter. Alexandrova easily closed out the match to claim a 6-4 6-2 triumph and defeat a No. 1 ranked player for the first time in her career.
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