Sports News | Alcaraz, Fritz, Andreescu Advance to Miami Open 3rd Round
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. Carlos Alcaraz picked up a straight-set win at the Miami Open on Friday to keep his world No. 1 ranking over idle Novak Djokovic.
Miami Gardens (Florida), Mar 25 (AP) Carlos Alcaraz picked up a straight-set win at the Miami Open on Friday to keep his world No. 1 ranking over idle Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic is not participating in the Miami Open because he still cannot travel to the United States as a foreign citizen who is not vaccinated against COVID-19.
Alcaraz, who beat Casper Ruud in the 2022 U.S. Open final for his first No. 1 ranking, defeated Facundo Bagnis 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the third round in Miami.
Rafael Nadal dropped out of the top 10 on Monday for the first time in 18 years.
Also Read | Issy Wong Hat-Trick Fires Mumbai Indians into WPL 2023 Final with 72-Run Win over UP Warriorz.
Alcaraz, a 19-year-old from Spain, rose into that spot a day after ending Daniil Medvedev's 19-match winning streak by beating him in straight sets in the final at Indian Wells, California.
Ruud, who's ranked No. 4, won his match against Ilya Ivashka 6-2, 6-3. He'll face No. 26 Botic van de Zandschulp on Sunday in the third round.
No. 1 American and No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz began his tournament campaign with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Emilio Nava. Fritz is 17-1 in his opening rounds of hard court tournaments since the start of 2022, with his only loss coming at the 2022 U.S. Open to No. 303 Brandon Holt.
Fritz will next face No. 24 Denis Shapovalov, who defeated Guido Pella on Friday.
On the women's side, Bianca Andreescu — the 2019 U.S. Open champion — came from a set down to oust No. 7 seed Maria Sakkari 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Andreescu improved to 2-1 over Sakkari, with both wins coming in Miami.
Andreescu will face Sofia Kenin in the third round.
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka beat Shelby Rogers 6-4, 6-3 and extended her record to 4-0 versus Rogers. Sabalenka will face No. 31 Marie Bouzková in the third round.
No. 5 Caroline Garcia lost to Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-3. Cirstea beat Garcia 10 days ago in the fourth round at Indian Wells, and will face Karolína Muchová next.
In other action, Varvara Gracheva defeated No. 4 Ons Jabeur 6-2, 6-2; and Jannik Sinner beat Laslo Ðere 6-4, 6-2. (AP) AM
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)