World number two Carlos Alcaraz remains on track for a sunshine double thanks to a straightforward beating of Lorenzo Musetti in the last 16 of the Miami Open.
The reigning Indian Wells Masters champion strode to a 6-3 6-3 success with one hour and 26 minutes on the board to reach the last eight – where he will battle Grigor Dimitrov – with minimal difficulty.
A new chapter of ATP Tour history was also written by Alcaraz on Tuesday, where he became the youngest male player to reach the quarter-finals of both the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Open three years running.
The 20-year-old got off to the perfect start in his fourth-round battle with Musetti, who lost serve in the inaugural game and did not fashion a single chance to break back against Alcaraz, who repeated the trick while the Italian was serving to stay in the set.
Musetti managed to put a bit more pressure on the Alcaraz serve in the second set, immediately breaking back to 4-3 after losing serve in the sixth game, but his fightback was short-lived as the Spaniard closed out a routine triumph with a two-game winning sequence.
Top seed Alcaraz is joined in the men’s quarter-finals by the other three highest-ranked male players, as Jannik Sinner overcame Christopher O’Connell 6-4 6-3, winning an impressive 71% of points behind his second serve.
A marathon in Miami 👊
No.4 seed Elena Rybakina outlasts Sakkari for a spot in the @MiamiOpen semifinals! pic.twitter.com/aitJOq1JAs
— wta (@WTA) March 27, 2024
Meanwhile, defending champion Daniil Medvedev eliminated Dominik Koepfer with a 7-6[5] 6-0 triumph, while Alexander Zverev made light work of Karen Khachanov in a 6-1 6-4 beating.
However, seventh seed Casper Ruud was the victim of an upset against Nicolas Jarry, who prevailed 7-6[3] 6-3, while Fabian Marozsan’s magical run continued as the Hungarian bested Alex de Minaur 6-4 0-6 6-1.
As the men’s fourth-round ties commenced, the women’s quarter-finals got underway on Tuesday, where last year’s runner-up Elena Rybakina emerged successful from a three-set thriller with Maria Sakkari.
Rybakina won 7-5 6-7[4] 6-4 in a two-hour and 48-minute showdown to advance to her seventh Masters semi-final, but not without incredible difficulty, as she missed two match points in the second set and squandered another two in the third before finally converting her fifth.
The Kazakhstani’s semi-final opponent will be former world number one Victoria Azarenka, who denied Rybakina a meeting with her compatriot Yulia Putintseva courtesy of her own three-set victory.
Despite a second-set capitulation, Azarenka – a three-time Miami Open champion – prevailed 7-6[4] 1-6 6-3 to eliminate Puntintseva, who broke back for 5-2 when Azarenka was serving for the match to no avail.
