WATCH: Camila Giorgi throws racket, suffers meltdown, emerges victorious in joint-longest WTA match of 2023

WTA Tour

Shahida Jacobs
March 22, 2023

Camila Giorgi and Kaia Kanepi played out to the joint-longest WTA main-draw match of the 2023 season in the first round of the Miami Open and it was the former who came away with the win.

The pair slugged it out for three hours and 32 minutes to tie Erika Andreeva and Harriet Dart’s 2023 record that took place in Austin in February, but it was Giorgi who came away with the 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-4) victory.

The world No 44, though, threw away strong positions in all three sets as she was a break up in the second set before Kanepi mounted a comeback while in the decider she found herself with a 5-0 advantage before the Estonian again fought back.

Giorgi initially had a 5-2 advantage in the opening set but Kanepi broke back in game nine before the Italian edged the tie-breaker. After breaking in the opening game of the second set, Giorgi looked set for a straight-set win but she was again pegged back and this time the world No 57 took the tie-breaker.

Midway through said tie-breaker, Giorgi took her frustrations out on her racket.

When Camila Giorgi throws her racquet, you know a match is getting spicy.

She led Kaia Kanepi by 7-6(4), 4-3 on her own serve with a game point to go up 5-3 in Miami.

These two actually seem to be hitting harder than usual today, if that’s possible. pic.twitter.com/ck0c0lC96S

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) March 21, 2023

It seemed to have helped as she raced into a 5-0 lead in the decider, but then lost her way again as Kanepi broke twice and saved two match to again take it to yet another tie-breaker. After Kanepi saved a third match point, Giorgi finally got the job done.

Giorgi served 11 aces while she also sent down 14 double faults, Kanepi hit 19 aces compared to seven double faults while both players won 135 points.

The draw doesn’t get easier for Giorgi as she faces former world No 1 and 14th seed Victoria Azarenka in the third round while third seed Jessica Pegula is also in their bracket.

There was also a big win for Katherine Sebov as the Canadian qualifier defeated 17-year-old Czech Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to secure her first-ever main draw win at WTA 1000 level. Her reward is a second-round clash against American Pegula.

Sebov’s compatriot Rebecca Marino defeated Yulia Putintseva 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 to set up a clash against sixth seed Coco Gauff while Elise Mertens beat Alycia Parks 6-1, 6-4 to book a second-round match against eighth seed Daria Kasatkina.

Camila Giorgi Kaia Kanepi