Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff suffered early exits on the Miami Open.
Swiatek was defeated by Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2 on Monday evening, whereas Gauff fell to No. 23 Caroline Garcia in three units, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.
In the boys’s draw, top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz superior to the spherical of 16 with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Gael Monfils.
This marks Alexandrova’s first win in opposition to a top-ranked participant. She will face Jessica Pegula, who defeated Emma Navarro 7-6(1), 6-3, within the quarterfinals.
Alexandrova’s victory over Swiatek is her second, following a 2021 win in Melbourne. Swiatek had received their three matches since then.
“We played quite a few times before, and sometimes it was three sets,” Alexandrova said. “I believe typically I used to be fairly near it, however nonetheless distant. Winning in opposition to her, in fact, it feels nice. I’m unsure if it’s a shock or not, however I simply labored fairly exhausting on the courtroom, and it paid off.”
Swiatek rallied from a set down and beat Linda Noskova a day earlier. Against Alexandrova, she struggled.
“Disappointed for sure because I thought I was going to play better here in Miami,” Swiatek said. “But she performed a tremendous match, and for positive, she was the higher participant on the market at the moment. Her serve, I had a tough time studying it. I acquired just a little bit tense after I couldn’t return effectively.”
Garcia defeated her second straight Grand Slam champion to succeed in Miami’s quarterfinals. She ousted four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka 7-6 (4), 7-5 on Sunday.
Garcia stated it had been some time since she had a victory over a top-10 opponent like Gauff.
“You keep working and trying to stay positive about what’s coming, that it’s going to pay off,” she said. “Sometimes, it’s very exhausting. But I’m fortunate sufficient to have excellent folks behind me to assist me and keep constructive after I’m struggling.”
“It means quite a bit to have this little reward and maintain going within the match,” she stated.
Also shifting into the quarterfinals was No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina, who defeated Seventeenth-seeded American Madison Keys 6-3, 7-5.
Rybakina will subsequent face No. 8 seed Maria Sakkari, who superior to her second Miami Open quarterfinal when Anna Kalinskaya, seeded twenty second, withdrew with a proper thigh harm.
Victoria Azarenka, who’s received the Australian Open twice, made the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Katie Boulter.
Yulia Putintseva additionally superior, defeating No. 27 seed Anhelina Kalinina in straight units, 6-4, 7-6 (5), and No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula beat Emma Navarro 7-6 (1), 6-3.
Alcaraz will subsequent face Lorenzo Musetti, who beat Ben Shelton 6-4, 7-6 (5).
Alexander Zverev, the fourth seed, defeated Christopher Eubanks 7-6 (4), 6-3, and No. 9 seed Alex de Minaur beat Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (3), 6-4.
Source: www.dailysabah.com