Zheng Qinwen made it three-for-three against Sloane Stephens on Saturday in Miami, defeating the former Miami Open champion 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour and 19 minutes in their first meeting since 2022.

Miami: Scores | Draws | Order of play

The win sends Zheng to the third round, where she will face Madison Keys after the American beat Elena Gabriela-Ruse 6-0, 6-3 in 67 minutes later in the afternoon. It will be their second meeting at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level; Keys won their first, in Washington, D.C., in 2023 in straight sets.

Both players used dominant stretches and strong serving on Saturday to set up the long-awaited rematch.

Zheng uses extended run to get past Stephens

Stephens earned the match’s first break at 3-2 as the opening set stayed tight early. But Zheng immediately broke back for 3-3, starting a run of eight straight games that carried her through the rest of the first set and into a 4-0 lead in the second.

Stephens finally stopped the streak by saving and holding for 4-1, but that was all she could manage in her attempt to slow Zheng’s momentum. Zheng served out the match from there, closing with a pair of routine holds similar to the ones that propelled her throughout the afternoon — and allowing her to take full advantage of finally getting on court for her second-round match.

“For me, it’s very weird,” Zheng told reporters after the match. “I had been waiting there since (Friday) morning, and you know, in that moment when they said my match got cancelled, the second match already finished, and the third match is going out. So I think it’s a very weird decision, because, you know, for us it’s not easy. Right now, some of us who won a match, we need to play three matches in a row.”

“But that’s tennis. If you are not at the top, you can’t decide your schedule. So for me, I need to fight, let’s say, from the jungle, and once I get back to the top, everything is going to be easier.”

In classic Zheng fashion, her serve was rock-solid in the win. She faced just one break point and, despite landing only 42% of her first serves, won 84% of those points along with 65% of her second-serve points. Meanwhile, she broke Stephens four times, converting four of her six chances.

Keys wins first seven games, holds on for straight-sets victory over Ruse

While the end result was the same, the story was a bit flipped in the match between Keys and Ruse. The former Australian Open champion came out blazing, winning the first set 6-0 in just 22 minutes and taking the first seven games of the match before Ruse finally held for 1-1 in the second set.

After struggling mightily in the opener, the Romanian steadied herself and remained on serve through the first six games of the second set, saving multiple break points to keep pace. But after Keys saved three break points — winning five straight points from 0-40 down — to hold, the American earned a break of her own to take a 5-3 lead.

Keys closed the door from there, winning the final three points, including a running forehand winner for 30-30 and a deft drop shot on match point, to advance to the third round in Miami for the fourth year in a row. After their previous two meetings were three-set thrillers that each lasted more than two and a half hours, Keys was pleasantly surprised by a much shorter affair.

“I was mentally prepared to be out here for three hours again,” Keys said in her on-court interview. “Every time I’ve played Gabby, it’s been 7-5, 7-6 in the third, so I was mentally prepared to be out here for a long time. I got off to a quick start and was a little bit surprised, honestly, but I just wanted to try to keep accumulating as many games as possible.

“But I think I started really well, served well and was using my forehand, and I just kept trying to do that. I definitely think the faster courts kind of help speed the match up a little bit. So overall, great day.”