Miami Open Masters 2016 Results: Scores, Bracket and Schedule After Thursday

Early-round play the 2016 Miami Open Masters continued Thursday in Key Biscayne, Florida, with world No. 1 Serena Williams taking center stage on the women's side of the draw.  

Matched up against fellow American Christina McHale, Williams was seeking to get back on the winning track after Victoria Azarenka defeated her in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Open final last weekend.

A big day on the women's side of the draw continued with world No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska in action against 26-year-old Alize Cornet. 

With action in Florida heating up, here's a rundown of everything that happened Thursday. The tournament's updated schedule and draw can be viewed here, courtesy of the Miami Open's official website. 

Women's Results

Result	Score/Start Time
Serena Williams def. Christina McHale	6-3, 5-7, 6-2
Agnieszka Radwanska def. Alize Cornet	6-0, 6-1
Petra Kvitova def. Irina Falconi	6-1, 6-4
Elina Svitolina def. Shuai Zhang	6-3, 6-0
Timea Bacsinszky def. Margarita Gasparyan	6-3, 6-1
Ana Ivanovic def. Teliana Pereira	6-3, 6-0
Madison Brengle def. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova	7-5, 6-4
Ekaterina Makarova def. Lesia Tsurenko	3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Yanina Wickmayer def. Lucie Safarova	6-2, 6-3
Caroline Wozniacki def. Vania King	7-5, 6-2
Heather Watson def. Sloane Stephens	6-3, 6-0
Zarina Diyas def. Daria Gavrilova	7-5, 6-3
Caroline Garcia def. Andrea Petkovic	7-3, 3-6, 7-6
Julia Goerges def. Samantha Stosur	3-6, 6-1, 6-4
Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Carina Witthoeft	6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Simona Halep def. Daria Kasatkina	6-3, 7-5

McHale put forth a valiant effort, but it ultimately wasn't enough to deter Williams as she began her quest to capture a ninth Miami Open title with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win. 

The World No. 1 broke McHale early and often in the first set before closing out the match's opening frame with a blistering ace, as the WTA documented on Twitter:  

However, McHale didn't back down.

Williams had match point up 5-4 in the second set, but McHale converted some of her best shots of the day to break the reigning Miami Open champion and eventually take a 6-5 lead.

Then, with a chance to force a tiebreak, Serena was outplayed by McHale once more as the 23-year-old produced another break to ensure a third set, as shown by the WTA on Twitter: 

McHale covered ground brilliantly as Serena sent her scurrying across the baseline all day long, but the world's 56th-ranked player ultimately ran out of gas after Williams went up 2-1 following a crucial break-point conversion and never looked back. 

"She can, should, and will be very proud of herself in this match," Williams said of McHale, according to WTA Insider on Twitter. "I think it can also show her how good she is."

Before Williams hit the court, Radwanska put on a clinic against Cornet as she swiftly dispatched the competition 6-0, 6-1 to clinch a spot in the third round of the Miami Open festivities. 

"The first match [of the tournament] is always tricky and it doesn't matter who you're playing, that's why I'm very happy to have such a good first match," Radwanska said, per WTA Tennis' official website. "Here today the conditions were really hot and humid. We all have to prepare for that and it's not going to be easy in the next few days."

Already up a game in the first set, Radwanska scored one of the points of the day when she scrambled to her right and volleyed a wicked crosscourt forehand from Cornet to establish her dominance, as the WTA documented on Twitter:

A few games later, Radwanska capitalized on some lazy net play by her opponent to hit a wonderful passing shot down the line as he went on to capture a first set victory without dropping a single game, per the WTA on Twitter:

SB Nation's Andrew Jerell Jones summed up a rough day for Cornet, who's heading home before the third round for already the second time this year:  

"

Cornet completes a rough day to go 1-7 emphatic as Aga Radwanska asks how her injury is in a clear victory for the world #2.

— Andrew Jerell Jones (@sluggahjells) March 24, 2016"

Cornet, to her credit, praised Radwanska for her stellar showing: 

"I'm just very happy with that win, maybe the score was not showing everything that was happening on the court," Radwanska said, according to WTA Tennis' site. "But I think it was a great start and a couple of tight games at the beginning of both sets was the key."

Finally, one of the day's bigger surprises came when Great Britain's Heather Watson made light work of American Sloane Stephens—6-3, 6-0—to advance to the third round.

Although Watson fell behind 1-3 in the first set, she rebounded and won the match's next 11 games to complete a thorough thrashing of the world's 22nd-ranked player.

Watson, who ranks just 69th in the world, has been bounced in the first or second round of three tournaments this season, but she's also the proud owner of a singles title thanks to a strong run in Monterrey, Mexico, in February. 

Although her play has been up-and-down to date, the 23-year-old has a chance to emerge as one of the sport's rising stars if she can build on Thursday's win and string together another upset or two as the spotlight beings to shine brighter in Miami. 

Men's Results

Result	Score/Start time
Andreas Seppi def. Donald Young	6-3, 6-1
Adrian Mannarino def. Illya Marchenko	2-6, 6-2, 6-3
John Millman def. Pablo Carreno Busta	6-3, 6-2
Andrey Kuznetsov def. Rogerio Dutra Silva	6-2, 6-3
Aljaz Bedene def. Roberto Carballes Baena	4-6, 6-2, 6-3
Tim Smyczek def. Tommy Paul	6-4, 5-7, 7-5
Denis Istomin def. Borna Coric	4-6, 7-5, 7-5
Mikhail Kukushkin def. Brian Baker	6-4, 6-2
Tatsuma Ito def. Nicolas Mahut	7-6, 6-2
Santiago Giraldo def. Paul-Henri Mathieu	6-2, 2-6, 6-3
Denis Kudla def. Hyeon Chung	6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Federico Delbonis def. Elias Ymer	6-1, 4-6, 6-3
Sergiy Stakhovsky def. Nicolas Jarry	7-6, 7-5
Damir Dzumhur def. Leonardo Mayer	4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Pierre-Hugues Herbert def. Lukas Rosol	7-5, 6-4
Marcos Baghdatis def. Benjamin Becker	6-3, 6-4

Men's competition took a backseat to the women's side of things Thursday, but it was hard not to take note of Donald Young's continued struggles.

Matched up against Italian Andreas Seppi for the second time in as many weeks, the 26-year-old American failed to make amends for a three-set loss in Indian Wells, California, at the BNP Paribas Open.

Young won a meager four games in the 6-3, 6-1 loss, and he failed to save four break points as Seppi routinely took advantage of the American's inconsistent play, as Jerell Jones observed:

"

Seppi doing the same thing to Young as he did last week, being steady when it matters the most. Kvitova with a solid start vs Falconi.

— Andrew Jerell Jones (@sluggahjells) March 24, 2016"

All told, Young won just 54 percent of his first-serve points, which paled in comparison to Seppi's conversion rate of 80 percent on the same points. Seppi also posted a 60-50 percent advantage in terms of second-serve points won. 

Young—who's still without a career singles title dating back to his debut in 2007—remains one of the most perplexing players on the men's tour.   

In other notable action on the men's side of the bracket, Denis Istomin slipped past Borna Coric in three sets, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, in a two-hour, 47-minute marathon match. According to the ATP World Tour's official website, the win was Istomin's first in ATP World Tour play since October 2015. 

However, Istomin may have to savor that win. His next opponent is world No. 2 Andy Murray, who has been itching to get on the court in Key Biscayne all week. 

By the time the two men meet Saturday, Murray should be primed to begin a run toward the Miami Open final a year after falling to Novak Djokovic on the tournament's championship stage.