The legendary pro boxer Mike Tyson was in attendance during Elena Rybakina and Petra Kvitova’s final at the 2023 Miami Open. ‘Iron Mike’ caused a slight delay by his late arrival to the venue.
Mike Tyson interrupts the match
He disrupted Elena Rybakina’s service routine to get the match underway. As the umpire made the call for the spectators to take their seats, the players were made to wait for Tyson to sit down before the final could commence.
Iron @MikeTyson in the house for the women's final! 🎾🥊#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/Ty08tNLaBW
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) April 1, 2023
Petra Kvitova ended Elena Rybakina’s 13-match winning streak and shattered her hopes of completing the Sunshine Double as she defeated the Kazakh in Miami to lift her ninth WTA 1000 trophy. The pair engaged in a challenging battle during the opening set, which involved setting the record for the longest tiebreak ever played in a WTA 1000 final.
Kvitova was dominant in the second set as she broke Rybakina’s serve twice to take an unassailable lead. The former World No. 2 won the match in straight sets, 7-6(14), 6-2, to register her 30th title on the WTA tour.
Following her win, Petra Kvitova acknowledged the challenges that arise when taking on young players like Elena Rybakina in crucial matches. The 33-year-old recognized the significance of defeating the younger players on tour despite deeming constant challenges from them as “very tiring.”
“Yeah, of course this means a lot. The young ones are coming up all the time. It’s tough to really face them all the time (smiling). It’s very tiring,” Kvitova said in a press conference after the final.
“Elena is young, as well. So, yeah, it’s still tough to compete, of course, with all of them,” the Czech added.
Kvitova spoke highly of Rybakina’s performances in Indian Wells and Miami, as well as the 2023 season in general as she wished her the best for the remainder of the year.
“First of all, I have to congratulate Elena for an incredible, not just those two weeks, but whole year, you are playing amazing. You have a great serve. I’m really happy today that I could share the court with you again and well done to your team as well. Good luck for the rest of the season,” Kvitova said in her winning speech.
