Swiatek’s ‘Sunshine Double’ hopes melt in Miami
MIAMI — Iga Swiatek’s hopes of landing another ‘Sunshine Double’ ended in a 6-4, 6-2 fourth-round loss to Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday as the world No 1 joined third seed Coco Gauff in making an early exit from the Miami Open.
Swiatek, who won the first leg of the Sunshine Double at Indian Wells earlier this month, was completely outplayed by the Russian world No 16, who claimed the biggest win of her career.
“I just went out on the court and did my best, I think it went quite well,” said Alexandrova.
Top seed Swiatek, who captured the Sunshine Double in 2022, never broke Alexandrova’s serve and had no answer to her powerful and precise groundstrokes under the lights in South Florida.
Alexandrova, seeded 14th, will next face fifth seed Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals after she overcame fellow American Emma Navarro 7-6 (1), 6-3.
Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia’s serve was clicking early in her battle against Gauff and she never faced a break point in the opening set before the American raised her level to even the affair at a set apiece.
In the first game of the deciding set, Garcia fended off four break points to hold serve and broke at love to take a 2-0 lead she would not relinquish against her 20-year-old opponent.
“I think I stayed positive and optimistic about my serve,” Garcia said about the five break points she saved.
“The first game of the third set was quite important for me and maybe for her also and I got a little bit lucky because my forehand was catching the line but also I went for it, so maybe it’s my reward.”
Next up for Garcia is American Danielle Collins, who beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-2.
Fourth seed Elena Rybakina powered past Madison Keys 6-3, 7-5 and will next meet a well-rested Maria Sakkari after the Greek eighth seed got a walkover into the quarterfinals.
Rybakina was more efficient than Keys, winning just over 80 percent of her first-serve points and converting three of eight break points during the 84-minute encounter.
“Really happy with my performance today,” Kazakhstan’s Rybakina said in her on-court interview. “It was a tough one.
“With Madison it’s always a difficult match, and she’s an aggressive player so I knew that I needed to be ready for every point and especially on the return.”
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz dominated Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-4 and fourth seed Alexander Zverev escaped a tight first set en route to a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win over Christopher Eubanks to reach the last 16.
Alcaraz is on a quest to capture the ‘Sunshine Double’ after his triumph at Indian Wells and the 20-year-old was never really threatened in a matchup of two of the game’s most entertaining players.
The Spaniard appeared to be cruising to the finish line when he served for the match leading 5-2 but Monfils rifled a forehand winner to break and extend the match.
The comeback would prove shortlived, however, with Alcaraz deploying a textbook serve and volley on his first match point to seal the win with a love hold.
“He’s a great athlete. He reaches almost every ball,” Alcaraz said of 37-year-old Frenchman Monfils.
“But at the same time, with my forehand, my best shot, I tried to move him around the court, tried to get him tired a little bit.”
Brazilian soccer player Neymar, Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler and former Grand Slam champion Juan Martin del Potro were among those who attended the contest.
“It’s kind of difficult to stay focused on the match, having such legends from every sport,” Alcaraz said. “It’s a great opportunity to have them here, to talk with them a little bit. It’s great to put on a show in front of them.”