Top seed Alcaraz sinks Monfils to advance in Miami
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz powered into the fourth round of the Miami Open with a 6-2, 6-4 win over French veteran Gael Monfils at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday. The 37-year-old Monfils was coping well with the power play of the talented Spaniard until he hurt his ankle in the fifth game.
While Monfils carried on bravely, bringing out some wonderful defensive shots from Alcaraz, the world number two was too much for the Parisian. There were plenty of smiles, in between the occasional wince from Monfils, who enjoyed some entertaining rallies where Alcaraz could show his deftness of touch.
With the outcome feeling like a formality, Alcaraz eased off the gas and Monfils was able to break for the first time to reduce the deficit to 5-3. Monfils then held his serve with a brilliant cross court winner before Alcaraz wrapped up business to book a place in the fourth round against Lorenzo Musetti.
“He’s a great athlete,” Alcaraz said of Monfils, “He reads almost every ball so I had to be patient but at the same time, with my forehand, my best shot, try to move him around the court, to get him tired a little bit and give myself the chance to dominate the point, get
to the net, hit my best shot.
“That’s what I was trying to do in the match and it worked pretty well,” he added. Alcaraz said he had enjoyed playing under the lights in front of stars such as Brazilian footballer Neymar and NBA star Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat.
But he expects a much tougher test from Musetti, who won an enthralling battle with American Ben Shelton in front of a raucous crowd on the Butch Buchholz court 6-4, 7-6 (7/5). “I know that Lorenzo is a really talented player so that’s a really tough one,” said Alcaraz. “But I am really happy with the level that I am playing, with the performance that I am bringing to the court,” he added. Earlier, fourth seed German Alexander Zverev came through a tricky test against American Christopher Eubanks, winning 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
Zverev delivered a crucial break when Eubanks was serving for the set at 5-3 before breaking early in the second to go 3-0 up and see himself through to victory. “He came out swinging and didn’t give me chances to be aggressive. I tried to mix it up from the baseline,” said Zverev.
“I was surprised how well he was playing from the baseline, not giving me many unforced errors. He makes a lot but usually misses a lot but today he wasn’t missing, especially through some stages of the first set,” he added. Zverev will face 15th seed Karen Khachanov who was pushed all the way by Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5).
Meanwhile, World number one Iga Swi-*
atek was knocked out of the Miami Open after inspired Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova triumphed 6-4, 6-2 in their fourth round match on Monday. The 16th seed Alexandrova played brilliant attacking tennis from the outset to beat the Pole and leave the WTA tournament without any of the top three seeds in the quarter-finals with Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff also out.
France’s Caroline Garcia upset world number three Gauff beating the American 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 on Monday to advance to the quarter-finals of the Miami Open, while world number two Aryna Sabalenka had been eliminated by Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina on Saturday.
Swiatek never looked comfortable after Alexandrova broke her in the opening game and took control of proceedings with some outstanding, attacking tennis. The Pole, who was looking to become the second woman to win the ‘Sunshine Double’ after her triumph at Indian Wells, generated just one break point in the match but Alexandrova saved it to take a 4-2 lead in the second set.
Garcia, who had beaten four-times Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka in straight sets on Sunday, continued her inspired form as she defeated Gauff on her home court in one hour 43 minutes. After a thrilling encounter, which ebbed and flowed, Garcia, ranked 27th in the world, emerged to face a last-eight meeting with the winner of Monday’s match between Romanian Sorana Cirstea and American Danielle Collins. — AFP