MIAMI/WASHINGTON, March 24, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)
With rain washing out all but two second-round singles matches Friday, Saturday at the Miami Open meant a very crowded schedule. A three-hour delay by more showers at the start of play didn’t help matters. However, by the end of the day, all but eight second-round matches had been completed.
All four of the top seeds – Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev – were in action, with the 2022 champion and No. 1 seed Alcaraz extending his winning streak to seven with an easy 6-2, 6-1 victory over fellow Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena, ranked 64th, in an hour and 25 minutes on Hard Rock Stadium. Alcaraz, 20, saved all three break points he faced and outpointed the newly-turned 31-year-old Carballes Baena 60-41.
“I defended well in the humid conditions,” Alcaraz said after earning his 11th straight victory against a compatriot. “I had to be patient.
“I had to adapt to the conditions; the ball goes differently to Indian Wells and I had to see how it would be. I’m really happy with my performance and how I hit the ball.”
Dreamin’ of the Sunshine Double 💭☀️
Indian Wells champ @carlosalcaraz kicks off his campaign in Miami with a comprehensive 6-2 6-1 win over fellow Spaniard Carballes Baena. @MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/FmT49zTCGU
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 24, 2024
Reigning champion Medvedev of Russia began defense of his title against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics. The World No. 4, who brought a 3-1 head-to-head advantage against the big-hitting Hungarian, won 6-4, 6-2 by converting three of three break-point opportunities and outpointing his opponent 59-43.
“Yesterday was the toughest, as I was 99 per cent sure I wouldn’t play [due to the rain] and I would like to have stayed at the hotel, but I couldn’t risk a walkover,” Medvedev said after his win. “I’m ready to play whenever. I like to play.”
Meddy doing Meddy things 🐙
Defending champion @DaniilMedwed begins the defence of his Miami title in style with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Fucsovics. @MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/uD84sKz5hp
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 23, 2024
Meanwhile, No. 2 seed and last year’s runner-up Sinner, who was coming off a loss for the first time this season (16-1) in the Indian Wells semifinals to Alcaraz last week, defeated 148th-ranked Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori. Sinner hit 16 winners and outpointed Vavassori in his 80-minute 6-3, 6-4 win. He improved to 14-3 lifetime in Miami.
“Yesterday I didn’t feel so good on court, today was a little bit better, so I’m happy about the performance,” Sinner said in his post-match interview. “For sure it’s tough, especially with a player when I have zero idea what is coming. So, I had to prepare well and when I had the break, I just tried to stay calm with my service games. It went my way in the end.”
All about his business 🦊
No. 2 seed @janniksin eases past compatriot Vavassori 6-3 6-4 to progress in Miami.@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/2SXeeJHejU
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 23, 2024
Not an overall good day for American men
Five Americans took to the court Saturday afternoon with No. 12 seed Taylor Fritz facing 76th-ranked qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild on Stadium Court. No. 21 seed Frances Tiafoe took on Christopher O’Connell on Grandstand. No. 13 seed Tommy Paul was featured in an all-American match with 204th-ranked wild card Martin Damm Jr. on Court 7, and young hopeful Alex Michelsen faced No. 25 seed Tallon Griekspoor on Court 5.
Suffice to say, it was not an overall good day for the Americans. In short order, Paul rolled an ankle early in the second set and was forced to retire against Damm after winning the opening set. Then, Tiafoe lost to No. 66 O’Connell of Australia, 7-5, 7-6 (5), which dropped his win-loss record to 7-7.
Wishing Tommy a speedy recovery 🙏@Martin__Damm is moving on after Paul is forced to retire due to injury at 4-6 2-1.@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/dJgygQfuFc
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 23, 2024
Next, the Brazilian Seyboth Wild needed just 71 minutes to dispose of Fritz, 6-3, 6-4, thanks to hitting eight aces and dropping just one point on his first serve. Finally, Griekspoor of the Netherlands eliminated No. 73 Michelsen, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (7), 6-4, in two hours and 41 minutes after striking 25 aces and converting all four of his break-point opportunities.
“I played a really solid match today, I barely missed,” Seyboth Wild said of his victory over the American No. 1 Fritz, in his on-court interview. “It was exactly the plan with my coach before the match. I held up pretty well on the backhand and used my forehand to win the match.”
Go Wild 🇧🇷@thiagoswild stuns top American Taylor Fritz 6-3 6-4 to reach the third round at #MiamiOpen for the first time! pic.twitter.com/HsNUFtN6PD
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 23, 2024
No. 28 seed Sebastian Korda finally gained the first American victory of the day after defeating 100th-ranked Spanish qualifier Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4, in two hours and 16 minutes on Court 5.
Following Korda, No. 31 seed Christopher Eubanks behind 21 aces pulled out a 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (7) win over No. 43 Daniel Evans of Great Britain that stretched to two hours and 40 minutes on Court 1.
WHAT. A. MATCH. 🤩@chris_eubanks96 saves a match point to defeat Evans 7-6(3) 3-6 7-6(7).@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/IxEENTcoJV
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 24, 2024
Around the Miami Open
No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 36 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in 76 minutes. The World No. 5 Zverev faced no break points and won 100 percent of his second-serve points. He outpointed Auger-Aliassime 55-32.
No. 7 seed Casper Ruud of Norway was pushed to three sets by 80th-ranked Frenchman Luca Van Assche but prevailed 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-1 in two hours. Although Ruud dropped serve twice, he converted five of seven break-point opportunities to advance.
Casper on the march 🎟️@CasperRuud98 will face Davidovich Fokina in the third round in Miami after coming through against Van Assche 7-6(5) 1-6 6-1! @MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/9FngDMlt2p
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 23, 2024
Behind 28 aces, No. 8 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland pulled out a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-3 victory over No. 58 Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan in an hour and 59 minutes. The 2021 Miami Open champion is now 5-0 in opening-round matches in Miami.
No. 10 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece lost to Denis Shapovalov of Canada, 6-2, 6-4. The 126th-ranked Shapovalov faced no break points and outpointed Tsitsipas 82-64 for his first win against a Top 20 opponent since October 2022.
No. 62 Andy Murray of Great Britain needed two hours and 17 minutes to eliminate No. 29 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, 7-6 (0), 6-3. Murray hit 10 aces and saved all seven break points he faced as he secured his first Top-50 win since last August.
MUZZ-TASTIC 🎭@andy_murray SNAPS a 9-match losing streak against Top 50 players, defeating the No. 29 seed Etcheverry 7-6(0) 6-3!@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/5GXZlfcwqD
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 23, 2024
No. 50 Dominik Koepfer of Germany upset No. 18 seed Sebastian Baez of Argentina, 6-3, 6-2, outpointing his opponent 55-36.
No. 22 seed Nicolas Jarry of Chile held off No. 42 Jack Draper of Great Britain, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (2), in three hours and 35 minutes. The two combined to hit 38 aces (Draper 20, Jarry 18) and Jarry outpointed Draper 123-120.
No. 27 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain eased past 124th-ranked wild card Juncheng “Jerry” Shang of China, 6-3, 7-5.
Sunday’s Miami Open order of play
By the numbers
France’s Gaël Monfils, ranked 47th, defeated No. 34 Jordan Thompson of Australia 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-2 for his 550th career win, becoming just the second Frenchman in the Open Era after Richard Gasquet to reach that plateau.
“Quotable …”
“You gain experience with every match. It’s not the first time I’ve played a Top-10 player. I’m trying to play my game, trying to be a little more aggressive than usual and it’s nice to have a great [result] today.”
— Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic, during his on-court interview, after earning his first Top-10 victory over World No. 6 Andrey Rublev on Friday.
