KEY BISCAYNE, Florida — CiCi Bellis defeated Indy De Vroome of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-2 for her second career WTA main draw match win Tuesday at the Miami Open. The 15-year-old Bellis defeated the 227th-ranked De Vroome in one of 12 women's main draw matches played on the opening day. The 211th-ranked Bellis made news at the 2014 US Open when she upset 12th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, the 2014 Australian Open finalist, in three sets in the first round. In the Miami Open second round, Bellis will face 29th-seeded Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan. The 44th-ranked Madison Brengle of the US also advanced posting a 6-0, 6-2 win against Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia. Brengle will next face fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. Monica Niculescu of Romania outlasted American Shelby Rogers 7-6 (1), 6-1 to secure a second consecutive, second-round match against top-seeded Serena Williams. The two played at Indian Wells with Williams prevailing 7-5, 7-5 in a match that spanned just over two hours. In other matches Tuesday, Kaia Kanepi defeated Canadian wild-card Francoise Abanda 6-2, 6-3, Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia defeated Polona Hercog of Slovenia 6-3, 6-2, and Karin Knapp of Italy defeated Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-0. Halep not thinking of top spot World No. 3 Simona Halep, meanwhile, says it is hard to imagine reaching the top of the world rankings as long as Serena Williams is playing the game but believes she has what it takes to win a Grand Slam. The Romanian arrives in Florida for this week's Miami Open off the biggest success in her career with a victory over Jelena Jankovic in the final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Sunday. The win was the third of the year for the 23-year-old following victories at Shenzhen and Dubai and while she is firmly entrenched as No. 3, behind Williams and Maria Sharapova, she says getting to top spot may be a step too far. “When Serena is No. 1, its hard to think of being No. 1,” Halep told reporters Tuesday. “But still I have confidence that I can win more titles and reach a higher ranking.” Still, Halep, who has never ventured past the third round in Miami, doesn't believe that Williams is unbeatable. “She (Serena) is very strong, she is a great champion, she has been up there for many years. She knows how to manage every situation,” praised Halep. “I admire her a lot and learnt many things from her. “After the first match at Indian Wells I told my coach that I really wanted to play her in the semifinals but it didn't happen because of her injury. “I really want to meet her many times, because I become stronger after I play her,” she added. — Agencies
