By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday March 25, 2021
Four surgeries to her right elbow have slowed the progress of Croatia’s Ana Konjuh, but they haven’t stopped her in her tracks. The 23-year-old notched her first WTA win since 2018 on Wednesday in Miami and on Thursday she took it a step further by knocking off World No.19 Madison Keys 6-4, 6-2, for her first Top 20 win since 2017 and a trip to the round of 16 at Miami.
Konjuh, whose last surgery was ulnar ligament construction in 2019, will next face either Barbora Krejcikova or Iga Swiatek.
She converted all five break points she faced against Keys on Thursday.
"I was excited to see what her game is like," the former World No.20 said after her victory. "I knew she was a big hitter, so I knew one of us had to make more mistakes today, and I'm thankful it wasn't me and I kept my level.
In other action on Thursday in Miami, No.5-seeded Elina Svitolina rallied to defeat Shelby Rogers, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, while Angelique Kerber handed Renata Zarazua a 6-0, 6-0 thrashing. No.11-seeded Belinda Bencic, No.17-seeded Johanna Konta aand No.30-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova were also winners.