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
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