Tsitsipas, with Big Three lacking, makes 4th spherical in Miami

For tennis up-and-comers like Stefanos Tsitsipas, the draw on the Miami Open started to look lots much less daunting even earlier than the match started.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer withdrew due to accidents, and Novak Djokovic determined in opposition to making the journey from his native Serbia. They stayed house with their 58 Grand Slam trophies.
“It’s a first test to see how it is playing without them,” Tsitsipas stated after his third-round victory Saturday. “There is going to be a time in the future where this is going to be more frequent and happening more regularly, and maybe even a standard soon. So, yeah, we get a taste of how it is playing without them.”
The No. 2-seeded Tsitsipas is amongst these with the very best likelihood to take benefit, and he seemed the half in opposition to Damir Dzumhur, profitable 6-1, 6-4.
Ranked a career-high No. 5, Tsitsipas improved to 15-4 this yr — and 2-3 lifetime in opposition to Dzumhur. The 22-year-old Greek used his serve to dominate Dzumhur, who by no means had a break level.
“I created a lot of opportunities with my serve — I wasn’t rushing at all, finding the right angles and executing it perfectly,” Tsitsipas stated. “Even with my second serve I felt like I did a lot of damage, not giving him a chance to press first and apply pressure with his shots.”
Tsitsipas will subsequent face No. 28 Kei Nishikori, who outlasted Aljaz Bedene 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4.
Two different title contenders, No. 4 Andrey Rublev and No. 6 Denis Shapovalov, superior in evening matches.
Rublev did not convert three match factors within the remaining recreation after which needed to sit for a one-hour rain delay earlier than closing out his victory over Tennys Sandgren, 6-1, 6-2. Shapovalov additionally endured a rain interruption within the third set earlier than ending off Ilya Ivashka 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4.
Marin Cilic rallied to edge No. 13 Cristian Garin 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
In ladies’s play, top-ranked Ash Barty and three-time champion Victoria Azarenka superior to a spherical of 16 showdown.
Barty beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 and had a a lot simpler time than within the earlier spherical, when she saved a match level to beat qualifier Kristina Kucova. That was Barty’s first match away from her native Australian since February 2020.
She saved Ostapenko on the transfer and on the defensive, pulling within the former French Open champion and shifting her backward and forward.
Barty is the defending champion because the 2019 winner. The match was canceled final yr in the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 14th-seeded Azarenka beat No. 24 Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-2. The match was Azarenka’s first this week after a bye and walkover. She received Miami in 2009, 2011 and 2016.
No. 3-seeded Simona Halep withdrew earlier than her third-round match due to a proper shoulder harm.
Wild card Ana Konjuh upset No. 15 Iga Swiatek. Konjuh’s profession has been slowed by 4 elbow surgical procedures, and this week she has earned her first three wins in main-draw WTA play since 2018.
“It has been frustrating the past couple of years, just having been through all these surgeries and comebacks and just never getting it right,” Konjuh stated. “So just to be back, you know, healthy and to compete at this level, it means a lot.”
No. 5 Elina Svitolina eradicated No. 30 Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (1), 6-4, and No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka ousted No. 32 Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (4), 6-4.