Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Monday put an end to Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca’s challenge at the Miami Open, outlasting the 18-year-old 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in an enthralling contest.
Attendance on stadium court had been sparse throughout the day, but the Hard Rock Stadium turned into a mini-Maracana Stadium for Fonseca’s match, complete with Brazilian flags and soccer-style chanting.
Fonseca brought his energetic brand of ultra-attacking tennis, but De Minaur was up to the challenge, coping with blistering forehands and a partisan crowd.
Photo: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / USA Today
Such was the dominance of Fonseca’s raucous support that the referee switched to Portuguese for his appeals for quiet.
However, De Minaur won six of the final seven games to move into the fourth round, keeping his cool even when the crowd, at times, disrupted his serve preparation.
“Mentally, I was ready for this match, I knew I was not only going to play an incredible talent like Joao, playing with immense confidence and nothing to lose, but also an incredible crowd that was on his side from the first point until the last,” De Minaur said.
Photo:Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / USA Today
Top seed Alexander Zverev recovered from a slow start to power into the fourth round of the Miami Open with a 7-5, 6-4 win against Australia’s Jordan Thompson, while third-seed Taylor Fritz also advanced, beating Denis Shapovalov of Canada 7-5, 6-3.
In the women’s draw, Emma Raducanu continued her impressive form in Miami, cruising to a 6-1, 6-3 victory in 69 minutes over American Amanda Anisimova, who had eliminated Indian Wells winner Mirra Andreeva the day before.
It was the first time Raducanu has won four straight WTA Tour main draw matches in a row since her US Open triumph in 2021. She would next face American Jessica Pegula.
Third-seed Coco Gauff’s bid ended with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Poland’s Magda Linette, while top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka eased her way into the last eight with a 6-4, 6-4 win over last year’s winner Danielle Collins of the US.
Former champion Iga Swiatek came through a tight first set before dispatching Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 7-6(5) 6-3 shortly after midnight. The Pole signed off by writing “time to sleep” on a camera lens.
The world No. 2 is next to play Alexandra Eala after the 19-year-old Filipina wildcard advanced when 10th seed Paula Badosa pulled out of their fourth-round meeting with a lower back injury.
In women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Chinese partner Jiang Xinyu are tomorrow to face the Chinese duo of Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai in the quarter-finals, as Wu and Jiang seek a third women’s doubles title this year.
The Taiwanese-Chinese pairing on Sunday advanced after Jessica Pegula and Ashlyn Krueger of the US retired due to an injury following just four games. The Americans were leading 3-1 in their 13 minutes on the court.
Wu is the last remaining Taiwanese in the tournament, after fifth seeds Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Veronika Kudermetova of Russia crashed out in the opening round of women’s doubles last week.
Taiwan’s Tseng Chun-hsin, who made it through the men’s singles qualifiers to the round-of-64, was knocked out on Friday by ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with Reuters
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