Romanian tennis player Irina Begu, (31st seeded), qualified for the third round of the WTA tournament in Miami (Florida) after she has defeated on Thursday 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 Smitkova Teresa (Czech Republic).
Irina Begu, 24, who ranks 35th in the WTA rankings, will cash a check of USD 31,670 and will get 65 WTA points.
In the third round, Begu will face seventh favourite Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland), who has defeated 6-4, 7-5 to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (Slovakia). Radwanska won only one match against Irina Begu, in 2013, in the second round of the Australian Open 6-3, 6-3.
Simona Halep, 3rd WTA, will play against Czech Nicole Vaidisova, beneficiary of a wild card and 328th WTA on Friday on the central arena in Miami Open, according to the schedule announced on the official website of the competition.
World number two Maria Sharapova crashed out of the Miami Open hard-court tennis tournament, ambushed by 97th-ranked Daria Gavrilova 7-6 (7/4), 6-3. Thursday’s upset, biggest so far at the combined WTA and ATP Masters event, took one hour, 49 minutes and marked the worst defeat five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova has endured in Miami since she lost in the first round on her debut in 2003.