Sabalenka doubles up in Miami

Tournament victories at the back-to-back, high-paying tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami are a rarity, especially on the women's tour. Sabalenka, who triumphed for the first time in the Californian desert two weeks ago, became only the fifth player to achieve the so-called "Sunshine Double" in Miami. Before her, Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Asarenka and, most recently, Iga Swiatek in 2022 had achieved the feat.

After winning the first set, Sabalenka came under pressure from time to time against the Florida-born world number four Gauff and had to concede only her fourth set of the year, the first against a player other than Australian Open winner Yelena Rybakina. In the deciding set, Sabalenka broke for 2:0 and 6:3 and after 2:09 hours she was able to convert her first match point.