Marino wins in Miami!

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MIAMI, Fla. – That’s a headline that might better fit after a Miami Dolphins game.

But Marino – Rebecca, not the Hall of Fame NFL quarterback, of course – didn’t have an easy draw in the first round of the Miami Open, which is played at the NFL team’s home.

But the 32-year-old from Vancouver got through, beating Yulia Putintseva 7-6 (5), 6-2 to make a date in the second round with No. 6 seed Coco Gauff.

It was a … matchy-matchy affair, with both Marino and Putintseva wearing KSwiss and each rocking it in their own way.

Here’s what it looked like.

Marino, currently ranked No. 83, has been dealing with some challenges in the last few months.

She parted ways with coach Bruno Echagaray after the Australian Open and is currently coachless, although Canadian BJK Cup captain Heidi el Tabakh is on hand in Miami.

The full squad will be taking part in a tie in Marino’s hometown of Vancouver against Belgium April 14-15, and so El Tabakh will be around to take a close look at her players.

As well, Marino has been dealing with some patella tendonitis – not unusual for tennis players. She had a small block of tape in Australia, lost the tape somewhere along the way and had a bigger block for the win over Putintseva Tuesday.

She said it looked far worse than it was, and that it was feeling good at the moment even if tendonitis is a thing that just takes time.

Here’s what she had to say about all that, and about her meeting with Gauff on Thursday.