Carlos Alcaraz of Spain reacts after successful the primary set in opposition to Tommy Paul in the course of the Miami Open tennis match, Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla.
| Photo Credit: AP
World primary Carlos Alcaraz charged into the quarter-finals of the ATP Miami Open with a convincing 6-4, 6-4 victory over Tommy Paul on Tuesday however second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was knocked out by Russian Karen Khachanov.
Alcaraz, the defending Miami champion and in addition the winner at Indian Wells earlier this month, will face one other American in the final eight when he comes up in opposition to Taylor Fritz.
Paul got here into the match having gained his final 12 encounters with Spanish gamers, together with wins over Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal final 12 months, however he was unable to get a foothold in the competition.
It was the ninth straight victory for the 19-year-old Spaniard, who delighted a supportive South Florida crowd along with his highly effective strokes from the baseline and readiness to transfer ahead, as soon as once more making use of his more and more efficient drop shot.
“I moved well and defended well and I counter-attacked and I think if I play at that same level I will have a lot of chances to get through,” mentioned Alcaraz.
“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 per week for his first contest in Miami, beating Chilean Cristian Garin on Monday, however he got here unstuck in opposition to Khachanov, dropping 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
The Greek has been troubled by a shoulder damage in latest weeks however Khachanov ended his six match dropping streak in opposition to Tsitsipas and 23 match barren spell in opposition to high ten opponents.
His serve was dependable all through and broke Tsitsipas’ serve to love in the fifth recreation of the second set and stored his cool to see out the win.
“Both of us were serving pretty well in the first set… Then I took it to the tie-break, and in the second set as soon as the opportunity came, I had to take it,” he mentioned.
In a conflict of top-10 gamers, American Fritz defeated Denmark’s Holger Rune 6-3, 6-4 to attain to the final eight in Miami for the primary time in his profession.
Fritz, who gained at Delray Beach final month, beat Emilio Nava and Denis Shapovalov in straight units earlier than Tuesday’s encounter and he was happy with the best way he was ready to go on the assault.
“I couldn’t play aggressively in my first two matches because my opponents were hitting every ball as hard as they could. (Rune) still crushes the ball but it was nice to feel I had some more time,” Fritz mentioned.
“The first two rounds, it was impossible to play my game, I just had to make balls. Today when I got the chance to be aggressive I was and I just wanted to serve well and try not to give him many free points.”
Eubanks ousts Mannarino
Fritz will likely be joined in the quarter-finals by compatriot Christopher Eubanks who claimed one other scalp by beating France’s Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5).
The recreation was delayed by rain for round 4 hours with Eubanks, ranked 119th in the world, 4-2 up in the primary set and after play resumed Mannarino was ready to drive a tie-break earlier than dropping out to the big-serving American.
There was nothing to separate the pair in the second set however as soon as once more Eubanks triumphed in the tie-breaker to attain a Masters 1000 quarter-finals for the primary time in his profession.
Having come by way of the qualifiers in Miami, the 26-year-old Eubanks has gained six straight recreation and can enter the highest 100 in the world rankings for the primary time.
Eubanks now faces world quantity 5 Daniil Medvedev after the Russian comfortably handled French qualifier Quentin Halys 6-4, 6-2 in a match which began after midnight following a four-hour rain delay.
Italian Jannik Sinner additionally superior to the final eight with out dropping a set and he was in agency management from the outset in opposition to Russian sixth seed Andrey Rublev, successful 6-2, 6-4.
Sinner, who has by no means failed to attain 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.
