The Greek second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas outmaneuvered Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin on Monday to achieve the fourth spherical of the Miami Open, profitable 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 whereas Elena Rybakina additional strengthened her pursuit of the uncommon “Sunshine Double” with a win over Elise Mertens.
Tsitsipas, nonetheless coping with an ongoing shoulder problem and taking part in his first match of the Miami fortnight following a bye and walkover, respectively, within the opening two rounds, had 12 aces and saved three of 4 break factors within the two-hour match.
“I was waiting for a very long time to get out there and play,” stated Tsitsipas. “It virtually felt like a trip this final week, staying in Miami, so I’m glad I obtained began.
“I won’t lie, it was difficult out there against an opponent that has shown good tennis against top players in the past.”
The match remained on serve till Tsitsipas broke for a 5-3 lead within the opening body earlier than happening to carry at like to seize the primary set with out going through a break level.
Tsitsipas was examined early within the second set when he fell behind 0-40 and wanted to win 5 consecutive factors to carry serve and draw stage at 1-1 however couldn’t repeat that escape at 4-5 as Garin broke to like to power a decider.
The Greek squandered two break level possibilities within the opening sport of a 3rd set however obtained the break he would want at 4-4 when Garin double-faulted whereas at 40-30 in a sport the Chilean went on to lose earlier than Tsitsipas served out the match.
Up subsequent for Tsitsipas shall be Russian 14th seed Karen Khachanov, who reached the spherical of 16 with a 6-2 6-4 win over Czech Jiri Lehecka.
Tsitsipas has a 6-0 file in head-to-head conferences towards Khachanov with their most up-to-date coming on the Australian Open semi-finals in January the place the Greek prevailed in 4 units to achieve his first Melbourne remaining.
In different males’s motion, Argentine Francisco Cerundolo surprised fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2 7-5 to avenge his third-round loss to the Canadian two weeks in the past at Indian Wells.
Red-hot Rybakina
Rybakina, the tenth seed, got here again from a break all the way down to seize the primary set towards Mertens.
She then ramped up the stress as she went up an early break within the second and by no means seemed again because the Wimbledon champion moved into the quarter-finals with a 6-4 6-3 win.
Mertens, who took down a pair of seeded gamers in Daria Kasatkina and Petra Martic en path to the final 16, led 4-3 within the first set however Rybakina took the subsequent six video games stretching into the second body to seize management.
If Rybakina lifts the title in Miami, she would grow to be solely the fifth girl to win the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments back-to-back, a feat referred to as the “Sunshine Double” given the tournaments’ areas in California and Florida.
Third seed Jessica Pegula beat Poland’s Magda Linette 6-1 7-5 in a match the place she broke 4 occasions throughout a 28-minute first set after which erased a 5-2 double-break to keep away from being pushed right into a decider.
Pegula, a Miami semi-finalist final 12 months who lives about half-hour from the event venue, has not dropped a set over her first three matches and can subsequent face Russia’s Anastasia Potapova, a 6-4 7-6(4) winner over China’s Qinwen Zheng.
In different motion, Italian twenty fifth seed Martina Trevisan loved a 6-3 6-3 win over former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, the Latvian twenty fourth seed, to achieve the quarter-finals of a WTA 1000 occasion for the primary time in her profession.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
