Andreescu upsets Sakkari in 2023 Miami Open tennis

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla., March 24 (UPI) -- Sweat poured onto the court as Bianca Andreescu fought off a gritty rally to upset Maria Sakkari in a 3-hour, 3-minute second round match at the 2023 Miami Open on Friday in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The Canadian, ranked No. 31 in the world, converted seven break points in the 5-7. 6-3, 6-4 win inside Hard Rock Stadium.

Sakkari, ranked No. 10, converted 4 of 8 break points. Andreescu's victory over the Greek tennis star was her third win over a Top-10 foe since she returned last April from a 6-month absence to address her mental health.

She will face No. 164 Sofia Kenin of the United States or No. 28 Anhelina Kalinina of the Ukraine in the third round.

Earlier Friday, No. 54 Varvara Gracheva of Russia upset No. 5 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia in straight sets at the grandstand court outside Hard Rock Stadium.

Gracheva fired 11 winners, totaled nine unforced errors and converted 5 of 6 break point opportunities in the 71-minute match. Jabeur scored eight winners and totaled 28 unforced errors. She converted just 1 of 4 break point chances.

"The plan was, of course like all matches, to be as stable as possible, to try to make her work as much points as possible, and of course wait for comfortable ones to attack," Gracheva told the Tennis Channel.

Four women from the Czech Republic -- No. 13 Barbora Krejcikova, No. 17 Karolina Pliskova, No. 36 Marie Bouzkova, and No. 55 Karolina Muchova advanced in other early Friday matches.

Russians Ekaterina Alexandrova (No. 18) and No. 103 Marketa Vondrousova picked up wins to advance to the third round.

On the men's side, No. 7 Andrey Rublev of Russia, No. 11 Jannik Sinner of Italy, No. 30 Denis Shapovalov of Canada and No. 54 Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland had second-round victories.

No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, No. 4 Casper Ruud of Norway, No. 8 Holger Rune of Denmark and No. 10 Taylor Fritz of the United States are among the top men's players who will participate in matches Friday night in Miami Gardens.

No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. 4 Caroline Garcia of France and No. 9 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland will be among the top players in action Friday night in women's singles.

The Miami Open will run through April 2 on the Hard Rock Stadium campus.