Sabalenka defeats Ann Li at rain-hit Miami Open

World number one and newly crowned Indian Wells champion Aryna Sabalenka has survived a stern battle against her American opponent, grinding out a 7-6(5) 6-4 victory to reach the third round.

Persistent rain forced further scheduling changes at the Miami Open, with several matches pushed to Saturday, while Sabalenka was moved to a secondary court to face Ann Li.

"I was there, I was fighting no matter what, even though my game probably wasn't the best one that I have," Sabalenka said in her on-court interview.

"She played incredible tennis - she was super aggressive and she served incredibly."

Men's top seed Carlos Alcaraz later kept his title charge on track, sailing through to the next round with a composed 6-4 6-4 win over Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca.

World number two Elena Rybakina continued her tremendous form, defeating her Kazakh compatriot Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-3.

Sixth seed Amanda Anisimova overcame a second-set wobble, after serving for the match before the rain delay, to beat Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1 5-7 6-4.

Fourth seed Coco Gauff and seventh seed Jasmine Paolini both came from a set down to defeat Elisabetta Cocciareto and Taylor Townsend, respectively, and advanced to the next round.