Tennis: Tsitsipas, Medvedev advance to fourth round of Miami Open ...
Stefanos Tsitsipas (pictured) from Greece advanced to the fourth round of the 2023 Miami Open with a three-set win over Russian Karen Khachanov on Monday in Miami Gardens, Fla. File Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla., March 27 (UPI) -- Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas fired a dozen aces and survived a late rally to beat Chilean Cristian Garin in a three-set tennis thriller and advance to Round of 16 at the 2023 Miami Open on Monday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Tsitsipas, ranked No. 3 in the world, converted two break points in the 2-hour, 4-minute match. Garin fired seven aces, 40 winners and converted one break opportunity on the court inside Hard Rock Stadium.
Tsitsipas, who received a first-round bye and advanced on a second-round walkover, will meet Russian Karen Khachanov in the Round of 16.
"I was waiting for a very long time to get out and play," Tsitsipas told the ATP in an on-court interview. "It has almost felt like a vacation this past week, staying in Miami.
"I'm glad I got started. It was a difficult match against an opponent who has played good tennis against good opponents."
The winner of the Tsitsipas-Khachanov match will meet Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, Frances Tiafoe of the United States or Lorenzo Sonego of Italy in the quarterfinals.
No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia also moved on to the Round of 16 on Monday after Slovakian foe Alex Molcan withdrew from their third-round match due to a hip injury.
Medvedev will face No. 79 Quentin Halys of France in the fourth round.
Halys beat No. 55 Mackenzie McDonald of the United States in straight sets Monday in the grandstand stadium.
Earlier Monday, Khachanov advanced with a straight-sets win over Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic. The 16th-ranked Russian totaled eight aces and converted 3 of 9 break point opportunities.
On the women's side, No. 26 Anastasia Potapova of Russia -- who beat No. 6 Coco Gauff of the United States in the third round, bounced Qinwen Zheng of China in straight sets Monday to reach the quarterfinals. Potapova converted 4 of 5 break points. She will meet No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States or No. 19 Magda Linette of Poland in the quarterfinals.
No. 24 Martina Trevisan of Italy advanced with a straight sets win over No. 22 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia. She will meet No. 7 Elena Rybakina of Kazakstan or No. 39 Elise Mertens of Belgium in the quarterfinals.
Pegula, Rybakina, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will be among the top women's players in action later Monday in Miami Gardens.
Tiafoe, No. 9 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland and Auger-Aliassime will be among the top men's players in action.
The Miami Open women's singles final will be at 3 p.m. EDT Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. The men's final will be at 1 p.m. Sunday on the same court. Those matches will air on Tennis Channel.
