World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday charged into the quarter-finals of the Miami Open with a convincing 6-4, 6-4 victory over Tommy Paul, but second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was knocked out by Russian Karen Khachanov.
Alcaraz, the defending Miami champion and also the winner at the BNP Paribas Open earlier this month, is to face another American in the last eight when he comes up against Taylor Fritz.
Paul came into the match having won his previous 12 encounters with Spanish players, including wins over Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal last year, but he was unable to get a foothold in the contest.
Photo: AFP
It was the ninth straight victory for the 19-year-old Spaniard, who delighted a supportive south Florida crowd with his powerful strokes from the baseline and readiness to move forward, once again making use of his increasingly effective drop shot.
“I moved well and defended well, and I counterattacked and I think if I play at that same level I will have a lot of chances to get through,” Alcaraz said. “I feel at home here. It is easy to play here in Miami with all the energy I receive every day.”
Tsitsipas had to wait a week for his first contest in Miami, beating Chilean Cristian Garin on Monday, but he came unstuck against Khachanov, losing 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
In a clash of top-10 players, Fritz defeated Denmark’s Holger Rune 6-3, 6-4 to reach the last eight in Miami for the first time in his career.
He is to be joined in the quarter-finals by compatriot Christopher Eubanks, who claimed another scalp by beating France’s Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5).
Eubanks is to face world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev after the Russian comfortably dealt with French qualifier Quentin Halys 6-4, 6-2 in a match that started after midnight following a four-hour rain delay.
Italian Jannik Sinner also advanced to the last eight without dropping a set against Russian sixth seed Andrey Rublev, winning 6-2, 6-4.
Sinner, who has never failed to reach the quarters in his three appearances in Miami, will face Emil Ruusuvuori after the Finn beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
In women’s singles, Elena Rybakina moved into the semi-finals with a confident 6-3, 6-0 win over Italy’s Martina Trevisan at Hard Rock Stadium to extend her winning streak to 12 matches.
American world No. 3 Jessica Pegula had to dig deep to come back from a set down to beat Russian Anastasia Potapova 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), saving two match points in a match which finished at 1:30am.
Wimbledon champion Rybakina, who competes for Kazakhstan, remains in strong contention for the “Sunshine Double” of the BNP Paribas Open and Miami titles, after she beat Aryna Sabalenka in California earlier this month.
Sabalenka is the biggest obstacle to Rybakina triumphing again with the Belarusian in impressive form in south Florida.
In women’s doubles, Taiwanese sisters Latisha Chan and Chan Hao-ching were to play Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Ellen Perez of Australia in their quarter-final match after press time last night.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Taiwan’s participation in the Olympic Games has been a story of politics as much as sports, with the name it has competed under since 1984 — Chinese Taipei — drawing as much attention as its athletes. However, with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad set to begin in Paris on Friday, the exploits of Taiwan’s athletes past and present who have won 36 medals since the country’s debut in Melbourne in 1956 deserve a nod. Many of Taiwan’s medal winners have gained considerable name recognition, but only two have achieved legendary status — Maysang Kalimud and Chi Cheng, the only medal winners
Shohei Ohtani on Sunday hit a 473-foot (144m) home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers went deep six times in a 9-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward also connected as Los Angeles swept the three-game series. “Going into the break, we weren’t playing good baseball, and then to come out fresh against a really good ball club and to play the way we did — the offense came to life,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. It was the 25th time the Dodgers launched at least six homers in a game
Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman on Wednesday said she would step away from the team’s opening game against New Zealand at the Paris Olympics in the wake of a drone scandal. New Zealand complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions earlier in the week. As of press time last night, Canada, the defending Olympic champions, were set to open the Paris Games against New Zealand in Saint-Etienne. In the fallout of the complaint, two staff members — assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi — were sent home, the
Conventional wisdom dictates that the average retirement age for elite female players in the intense and physically demanding sport of badminton is well under 30 years old. Five female shuttlers are set to turn that on its head when they make their fourth Olympic appearances at the Paris Games, a feat never accomplished before. Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, 30, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, 29, Belgium’s Lianne Tan, 33, and Hong Kong’s Tse Ying Suet and Canada’s Michelle Li, both 32, are to compete for Olympic glory at Porte de La Chapelle Arena from Saturday to Aug. 5. “These achievements get missed because they’re women,” said