Taiwanese sisters Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan on Tuesday crashed out of the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Miami Open, while Juan Martin del Potro’s return to form continued in the men’s singles.
The second-seeded Chan sisters fell to a 2-6, 6-4, 13-11 defeat to Czech sixth seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in 1 hour, 31 minutes.
The Taiwanese duo failed to save any of the four break points they faced, despite winning five of six break points and winning 66 of the 129 points contested in the match.
In the other quarter-final, Russian top seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina pulled off an emotional win, sporting black ribbons to commemorate the deaths of at least 64 people — 41 of them children — at a Siberian shopping mall on Sunday in their 6-2, 6-4 victory over Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine and Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia.
In the men’s singles, Del Potro sent his devoted fans home happy by powering into the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Serbian Filip Krajinovic.
Roared on by a partisan crowd, the 29-year-old Argentine recovered from 1-4 down in the first set to reel off nine games in a row on his way to a last-eight match with Canada’s Milos Raonic.
Del Potro’s welcome return to form and fitness saw him win the Indian Wells title in California and continue to impress in Key Biscayne, Florida, before a move north to the Miami Dolphins’ home stadium next year.
“Playing here they make it special for the South American players and I am trying to enjoy the last time playing in Key Biscayne,” Del Potro said.
“I know many Argentine fans live here and are so close. I will miss them,” he added.
Windy conditions hampered the players all day and the former US Open champion took time to find his groove in his first meeting with world No. 27 Krajinovic.
“The weather was so bad to play tennis. We couldn’t feel the ball 100 percent. We couldn’t hit from the baseline,” Del Potro said.
“I’m confident I will feel better tomorrow. The better weather will make me feel better on court,” he added.
Raonic, who easily saw off Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3 6-4, lost to Del Potro in the Indian Wells semi-finals and would be eagerly seeking revenge.
Del Potro was the top seed remaining after second seed Marin Cilic was beaten 7-6 (7/0), 6-3 by John Isner of the US.
The Croatian’s run was halted by big-serving Isner in just 87 minutes to set up a last-eight meeting with South Korean 19th seed and rising star Chung Hyeon.
It was a fine performance by Isner, the 14th seed, who rattled down 12 aces and was boosted by winning 85 percent of points on his first serve.
Isner has never won an ATP Masters event, but the display fueled hopes this could be his time.
“I think in these events, the format is very good for me: two out of three sets,” Isner said.
“In a situation like that, if I’m feeling fit and healthy, which I am, and serving like I did today, I can beat a lot of people playing like that,” he added.
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