ATP

Gasquet prevails in Miami Open first round to book clash with Tsitsipas

By Sports Desk March 23, 2023

Richard Gasquet will get a showcase match against second-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the Miami Open after prevailing 6-4 3-6 6-1 against Christopher O'Connell on Thursday.

The biggest names in the field learned their opponents after the 32 seeded entrant received byes into the second round of the Masters 1000 event, and Tsitsipas will be desperate to avoid a third consecutive loss after quick exits at the Rotterdam Open and Indian Wells Open in recent weeks.

Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev is waiting for Roberto Carbellas Baena after he blew away Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-0 3-0 (retired) in an all-Spanish showdown, while fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will meet Brazil's Thiago Monteiro in the second round after his 6-4 7-6 (8-6) triumph over Australia's Jason Kubler.

After O'Connell and Kubler both fell, Thanasi Kokkinakis flew the flag for Australia with a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (9-7) comeback against Belgian wildcard Zizou Bergs, and his reward will be a battle against Polish eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz.

France's Gregoire Barrere earned a big matchup against 11th seed Cameron Norrie after eliminating Roman Safiullin 6-4 3-6 6-3, and Safiullin's Russian compatriot Pavel Kotov will join him on an early flight home after going down 6-2 6-2 against recent Chile Open finalist Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

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    Andy Murray will miss next month’s Monte Carlo Masters and the BMW Open Munich with the ankle injury he suffered in Miami.

    The 36-year-old Scot has vowed to return to action “as soon as possible”, but it is also uncertain when he will be back on court.

    A statement from the two-time Wimbledon champion’s management team on Friday read: “Following consultation with his team and medical experts, Andy Murray has taken the decision to miss the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters and BMW Open Munich.

    “At this stage, it is still not clear how long Andy will be out of action, and he is continuing to review options with his medical team.

    “Obviously this is very disappointing news for Andy and he has reiterated his desire to get back on court as soon as possible.

    “He thanks all his fans for their kind messages of support and will continue to update everybody as the situation evolves.”

    The Monte Carlo Masters and BMW Open Munich take place between April 7-14 and April 15-21 respectively.

    Murray cried out in pain and fell to the floor late on in his third-round defeat by Tomas Machac at the Miami Open last Sunday.

    Murray was able to complete the match after on-court treatment but revealed in an Instagram post that he had seriously damaged two ligaments in his left ankle.

    It is less than 10 weeks until the start of the British grass-court season and just over three months until Wimbledon, where Murray had planned to play for the final time before retirement.

    He has also targeted a final Olympic appearance in Paris but all those could depend on whether he needs an operation or if non-surgical measures will suffice.

    It is cruel timing for the three-time grand-slam champion, who had won back-to-back matches for the first time this year in Miami.

  • Grigor Dimitrov dumps Carlos Alcaraz out of Miami Open Grigor Dimitrov dumps Carlos Alcaraz out of Miami Open

    Gregor Dimitrov beat top seed Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets to book a place in the Miami Open semi-final.

    The Bulgarian, seeded 11th, won 6-2 6-4 to book a last-four meeting with Germany’s world number five Alexander Zverev.

    Dimitrov made a fast start as he opened a 3-0 lead and Alcaraz, chasing back-to-back titles after winning in Indian Wells, was never able to get back on terms.

    He fought back from 4-1 down in the second set, but Dimitrov broke again to seal his second successive win over the Spaniard.

    “I think overall, to win against him, you have to play at your best; that’s just how it is,” said Dimitrov. “I came into the match very focused and extremely clear what I had to do.

    “Sometimes simplicity is genius. It’s very, very hard to do it, especially when you play against an opponent like that, but I was really able to dictate the game, read the game a little bit better than last time.

    “Overall, I think a very great match on my end and I’m just happy I finished in straight sets.”

    Zverev ended unseeded Fabian Marozsan’s run with a 6-3 7-5 success.

    The Hungarian had beaten top 10 pair Holger Rune and Alex de Minaur to reach the last eight, but could only muster two break points as Zverev won 80 per cent of points on his first serve.

    “I’m happy to be back in these late stages of these tournaments, playing the best players in the world, I think there are only those left,” said Zverev, who reached the final in Miami in 2018.

    Defending champion Daniil Medvedev will meet Jannik Sinner in the other semi-final in a rematch of the Australian Open final.

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    Medvedev beat Sinner in last year’s Miami final, but the Italian came from two sets down to claim the Australia Open title in January.

    World number four Medvedev cruised through the first set against Jarry 6-2 but had to battle his way through a tie-break win in the second set as the Chilean fought his way back into the match.

    “The first set I thought I was playing a good level, not doing anything extra, just enough to win,” Medvedev said.

    “Then he started to play much better and it was tough rallies, tough points. He served better and it was just a matter of a few points in the tie-break.”

    Sinner reached his fourth semi-final of the year as he eased past Tomas Machac 6-4 6-2 in 91 minutes.

    “Physically I feel good. I’m just happy to compete,” Sinner said.

    “We practise very hard to be in these positions and I’m really happy I can play once again in the semis here at such a special tournament.

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