Miami Open Masters 2018: Early Scores and Results from Friday

Defending women's champion Johanna Konta cruised past Kirsten Flipkens during Friday's early Miami Open action, while Kei Nishikori had to dig deep in his win over John Millman.

Millman took the Japanese star to three sets but came up just short in his bid for an upset.

David Goffin's return from injury ended in disaster, as he won just a single game in a loss against Joao Sousa, and Elena Vesnina suffered a meltdown in her loss to Donna Vekic.

Here's a look at some select results. For the women's full scores, click here, and for the men's, click here.

(2) Marin Cilic beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert: 7-5, 6-3

Joao Sousa beat (7) David Goffin: 6-0, 6-1

(26) Kei Nishikori beat (Q) John Millman: 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3

(4) Elina Svitolina beat Naomi Osaka: 6-4, 6-2

Donna Vekic beat (24) Elena Vesnina: 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-1

(11) Johanna Konta beat Kirsten Flipkens: 6-3, 6-4

Recap

Goffin hadn't played since suffering an eye injury in Rotterdam in February that required surgery, and there was plenty of anticipation surrounding his comeback in Miami. That comeback didn't go as planned, however, as the Belgian suffered a heavy defeat against Sousa.

As shared by former tennis professional Filip Dewulf, Goffin's eye injury clearly still bothered him:

The first set barely took half an hour, and while Goffin appeared to turn the corner early in the second with a break, it was clear a lack of match rhythm bothered him. The 27-year-old has plenty of work to do ahead of the French Open and the rest of the clay season.

Cilic had no such issues, cruising to a simple two-set win over Herbert, while Millman took Nishikori to three sets later in the day.

The Australian had as many as five set points in the first but couldn't close the deal, and that would continue throughout the match, as the Nishikori's class won out. He'll face Juan Martin del Potro or Robin Haase in the next round.

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

In the women's draw, Svitolina put an end to the red-hot form of Osaka, the rising star who won Indian Wells earlier this month and knocked Serena Williams out in the first round.

The draw was a brutal one for the 20-year-old, however, and Svitolina expertly handled things on Friday, cruising to a win.

Vesnina had no such luck against Vekic, as things went horribly wrong in the final set, per tennis writer Chris Goldsmith:

The 31-year-old fought back in a thrilling second set, tying things up after she had to serve to stay in the match. At that point, her opponent appeared to be breaking mentally, as Vekic threw away her racket and called for a trainer. The umpire didn't help matters with several questionable line calls, including two that should have been replayed but weren't.

But the 21-year-old kept her cool in the final set and punished every mistake Vesnina made, losing just one more game on her way to the next round.

Konta hit eight aces on her way to a dominant win over Flipkens, who couldn't keep pace in the rallies and rarely threatened the defending champion.