Miami Open Masters 2016: Women's Final Score, Updated Men's Final Schedule

Victoria Azarenka defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets Saturday to capture the women's championship at the 2016 Miami Open. It's her third title of the season after previously winning in Brisbane and Indian Wells.

Now the focus will shift to Sunday's title match on the men's side between top-ranked Novak Djokovic and sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori. A victory would already mark the fourth tournament triumph of the campaign for Djokovic, who owns a 27-1 record entering the Miami Masters final.

So let's review Saturday's action from the Crandon Park Tennis Center before looking ahead to another intriguing battle to finish the high-profile event on Sunday.

Women's Final Recap

Player	1st Set	2nd Set
(15) Svetlana Kuznetsova	3	2
(13) Victoria Azarenka	6	6

Even though Azarenka is the deserved winner, the championship match was closer than the final scoreline would suggest. Kuznetsova just couldn't come up with enough critical points on her own serve in the first set to take advantage of some shaky moments from the two-time major champion.

Of the nine games in the opening set, eight resulted in a break of serve. The No. 13 seed's singular hold in the second game was the difference. But it was her ability to put constant pressure on Kuznetsova at the service line that earned her the title.

Azarenka stepped in and hit return after return with immense power to immediately turn defense into offense. Her Russian counterpart never found a consistent way to offset that advantage.

Christopher Clarey of the New York Times had high praise for the former world No. 1's return:

Kuznetsova finally held for the first time in her first game of the second set, but the tide had already turned in favor of Azarenka. The champion held serve in all four of her service games in the second and picked up two more breaks to cruise to the finish line.

She didn't have her A-game throughout the entire match, but she found ways to win crucial points and then took firm control in the second set. That improved mental strength at key moments of the match is why she's already got three titles this season.

The WTA highlighted match point:

Piers Newbery of BBC Sport pointed out Azarenka becomes just the third woman to complete the Indian Wells-Miami double:

Azarenka is setting herself up for a potentially fruitful spring and summer with her uptick in form during the early stages of 2016. She's seemingly closed the gap with Serena Williams, whom she beat in the Indian Wells final. The No. 1 player hasn't been quite as dominant so far this season.

Meanwhile, reaching the final represents progress for Kuznetsova as she gears up for the French Open, which she won in 2009. She hasn't advanced beyond the quarterfinals of a major since that marquee win, but her play in Miami was certainly a step in the right direction.

Azarenka was simply too much on this day, however. While Williams is still the player to beat on the women's side, Azarenka isn't too far behind with the way she's playing right now.

Reaction

Kuznetsova thanked the fans for their support over the past couple weeks, per WTA Insider:

The Miami Open noted she also gave full credit to Azarenka for a strong performance.

"Now, she's in the height of her game," the runner-up said.

Andrew Jerell Jones of the Guardian spotlighted the trophy ceremony:

The champion dedicated the victory to her parents back home in Belarus, as relayed by Clarey.

"They gave me roots so I always know where I came from and they gave me wings to fly," Azarenka said.

Men's Final Preview

Matchup	(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (6) Kei Nishikori
Date	Sunday, April 3
Time	1 p.m. ET
TV	ESPN2
Live Stream	WatchESPN

Sunday's match will mark the ninth career meeting between Djokovic and Nishikori. The Japan native actually won two of the first three encounters, but Djokovic has rolled off five consecutive victories to take a 6-2 edge in the rivalry.

The most recent meeting came during the season's first major, the Australian Open. The No. 1 player in the world cruised through the quarterfinal in straight sets. It continued a trend as Nishikori has won just two sets during the head-to-head losing streak against the Serbian sensation.

Although those aren't promising numbers, there's still reason for optimism. He's played some terrific tennis over the past two weeks, navigating a tricky draw just to reach the final.

Nishikori defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Roberto Bautista Agut, Gael Monfils and Nick Kyrgios to set up the clash with Djokovic and dropped just a single set in the process. That's a highly impressive run considering the level of the competition.

Peter Bodo of ESPN passed along comments from Sunday's underdog following his semifinal victory over Kyrgios about what it would take to knock off the top seed.

"I have good confidence to play [Djokovic]," Nishikori said. "He's at a different level now, but if I can play aggressive but also patient, like today, I have some chances to win [the] title. But I have to play 100 percent...or 120 percent."

Jose Morgado of the Diario Record provided an interesting fact about the matchup:

David Law of BT Sport noted Nishikori's success against top players has faded lately, though:

Ultimately, the tennis Nishikori has played throughout the tournament suggests this meeting should be far more competitive than most of the others recently. The question is whether he's got enough firepower to pull off the upset.

The answer is probably not. Djokovic is on a completely different level right now, and it would take a rare poor performance from him to give Nishikori a shot at winning the title. There hasn't been any sign during the event to believe that's going to happen.

Prediction: Djokovic in two (competitive) sets