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World number 1 and 2015 Miami semi-finalist Simona Halep reached the third round after a hard-fought 3-6 6-3 7-5 win over a lucky loser Oceane Dodin in 2 hours and 6 minutes. Oceane had everything in her hands in the final set, leading 4-2 and moving just a few steps away from her biggest win in a career before the Romanian started her comeback, pulling a break back in game seven to gain the momentum and breaking her younger opponent once again in game 11 to take the lead for the first time in the set.
Simona was far from her best but she at least managed to close the match in style, holding at love in the 12th game to book the place in the last 32 where she will face a former Miami champion Agnieszka Radwanska. Dodin was in a great position to bring the win home despite the fact she served at 43% and hit no less than 16 double faults, saving nine out of 16 break points she faced.
On the other hand, she seized almost every opportunity she got on the return, breaking Halep six times from seven chances to stay in contention until the very last games of the encounter. After they traded breaks in the second and third games Dodin got another one in game six to move 4-2 in front, saving two break points in game nine to take the opener 6-3.
The second set was fast and fluid, with only one deuce, and Halep recovered her shots a little bit to repel the pressure and score three breaks, deciding the set with one at 4-3 and sending the match into a decider after holding at 15 in game nine.
We saw four breaks in a row there in the middle of the set and Oceane squandered a great opportunity for her biggest career win, leading 3-1 and 4-2 but losing her serve in the very next games to keep Simona on the positive side of the scoreboard.
The seventh game proved to be crucial and Halep played better after pulling the break back, dropping two points in the last three service games and breaking Dodin in game 11 to seal the deal on own serve a few minutes later and avoid a huge upset. Second round results:
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