WATCH: Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk successfully pulls off unexpected tactic to beat Russian opponent at Miami Open

Twenty-third-seeded Marta Kostyuk chose an innovative way to finish her third-round match against Anna Blinkova at the 2025 Miami Open. The Ukrainian player used an underarm serve on match point to win.

The match did not start well for Kostyuk as she conceded her first service game and Blinkova went 2-0 up in the first set. However, that would be the only moment of joy for the Russian on the court as the Ukrainian won the next 11 games in a row, winning the first set 6-2, and taking a 5-0 lead in the second set.

Kostuyk served for the match at 5-1 in the second set, with Blinkova making a last-ditch effort to remain the match. Being 15-40 down, the Ukrainian used all her experience and composure to save the breakpoints and arrive at a match point herself.

She decided to take a risk and use an underarm serve on the match point. The ploy worked perfectly as Blinkova was caught unaware and could not reach the ball in time, handing the victory to Kostyuk with an underarm ace.

After the match, Marta Kostyuk did not come to the net for the customary handshake with Anna Blinkova, which has been a stance of the Ukrainian players as a way of protesting against the Russian invasion of their country.

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"I think I adjusted well"- Marta Kostyuk on her 3R performance at the Miami Open

After her dominant win, Kostyuk reflected on the match, claiming it was one of the best she had played in recent times. During her post-match interview on Tennis Channel, the Ukrainian reflected on the adjustments she made on the court to adapt to the faster conditions of Miami compared to the slower and bouncier surface at Indian Wells.

"I think um I don't know if the courts are different like from practice court and match court because I felt like everything was different not just courts uh but yeah I think um I think I I adjusted well I learned my mistakes from the previous match clearly and yeah very happy with today's performance." said Marta Kostyuk

When asked about her preparations for the later stages of the tournament, Kostyuk replied she was focusing on her preparation rather than on the outcome of the match.

"I think I need to stick to the things that I'm working on for quite some time already and you we can see I had some great matches this year and yeah I I'm not trying to focus on the on the results on the outcome of the match that much I'm trying to focus on like really doing the things that I have to do and regardless of of who's on the other side," added Kostyuk

Marta Kostyuk will face fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula in the fourth round; the Ukrainian trails 1-2 in the head-to-head against the American.