Miami: World No 3 Coco Gauff said it would not be easy to shrug off Monday’s Miami Open defeat by Caroline Garcia but the former Roland Garros runner-up is setting her sights on the claycourt season and the year’s second Grand Slam.
Playing in her home tournament in southern Florida, Gauff fell 6-3 1-6 6-2 to Frenchwoman Garcia in the fourth round on a day of upsets at the tournament.
“I’m the type of person every loss weighs on me heavy, especially one like today where I felt like I could have done better and I felt like I had the match in control, especially after the second set,” Gauff told reporters.
“Honestly, if anything, it helps being home so I can just drive and be home and be in my own bed.
“I wish I could have did better this hardcourt season, but I’m excited for clay,” added the 20-year-old US Open champion, who lost to Iga Swiatek in the 2022 French Open final.
“I’m playing Stuttgart as of now and then obviously Madrid, Rome and the French Open.” Garcia, who beat four-times major champion Naomi Osaka in the previous round, was delighted to reach her first quarter-final of the season.
“The last couple of months haven’t been easy, and definitely today following the match yesterday, it means a lot,” added the 30-year-old, who plays Danielle Collins next.
World No 1 Swiatek was also knocked out after inspired Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova triumphed 6-4, 6-2 in their fourth round match.
The 16th seed Alexandrova played brilliant attacking tennis from the outset to beat the Pole and leave the WTA tournament without any of the top three seeds in the quarter-finals with Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff also out.
Swiatek never looked comfortable after Alexandrova broke her in the opening game and took control of proceedings with some outstanding, attacking tennis.
Swiatek generated just one break point in the match but Alexandrova saved it to take a 4-2 lead in the second set.
Having come from a set down in the previous round against Linda Noskova, Swiatek would have had some belief in turning the contest around but her Russian opponent was in no mood for mistakes.
She made short work of the second set, breaking to go 2-1 up with an startling cross-court return and ending the match with 31 winners to Swiatek’s 11.
The match was the first in which Swiatek has not broken serve since her defeat to Ash Barty in Adelaide in January, 2022.
Alexandrova laughed off the suggestion that she had played a perfect match but was certainly not going to downplay her performance.
“It was such a great game for me in consistency, the serve, the returns, the playing from the baseline, I think it was pretty good and I hope I can keep for the next match,” she said.
A quarter-finalist also in Miami last year, that next match will be against fifth-seed Jessica Pegula on Wednesday.
Fourth seed Elena Rybakina defeated American Madison Keys 6-3, 7-5 to set up a quarter-final with Greece’s Maria Sakkari.
Sakkari advanced with a walkover after Anna Kalinskaya had to withdraw ahead of their match on Monday due to a right thigh injury.
Victoria Azarenka also progressed with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Britain’s Katie Boulter.
Alcaraz, Zverev reach last 16
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz dominated Gael Monfils 6-2 6-4 and fourth seed Alexander Zverev escaped a tight first set en route to a 7-6(4) 6-3 win over Christopher Eubanks to reach the last 16 on Monday.
Alcaraz is on a quest to capture the ‘Sunshine Double’ after his triumph at Indian Wells and the 20-year-old was never really threatened in a matchup of two of the game’s most entertaining players.
The Spaniard appeared to be cruising to the finish line when he served for the match leading 5-2 but Monfils rifled a forehand winner to break and extend the match.
The comeback would prove short lived, however, with Alcaraz deploying a textbook serve and volley on his first match point to seal the win with a love hold.
“He’s a great athlete. He reaches almost every ball,” Alcaraz said of 37-year-old Frenchman Monfils.
“But at the same time, with my forehand, my best shot, I tried to move him around the court, tried to get him tired a little bit.” Brazilian soccer player Neymar, Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler and former Grand Slam champion Juan Martin del Potro were among those on hand for the contest.
“It’s kind of difficult to stay focused on the match, having such legends from every sport,” Alcaraz said.
“It’s a great opportunity to have them here, to talk with them a little bit. It’s great to put on a show in front of them.” Alcaraz, who won the tournament in 2022, will next face Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, who beat American Ben Shelton 6-4 7-6(5).
Zverev limited his unforced errors, converted his two break point opportunities and saved four of the five break points he faced before closing out the one hour and 44-minute contest with a forehand volley into the open court.
“It was a difficult match. I thought he was in control of it throughout the first set,” said former Miami Open finalist Zverev. “I was just hanging on and sometimes that is just what you need to do.” Eubanks had a chance to serve out the first set at 5-3 but was denied by Zverev, who broke the American again early in the second set to build a 3-0 lead. Zverev later had to save three break points to serve out the match.
Awaiting Zverev in the last 16 will be 15th seed Khachanov, who converted his fifth match point to secure a 6-1 5-7 7-6(5) win over Argentine 20th seed Francisco Cerundolo.
Zverev has a 3-2 record against Khachanov and won their most recent meeting in the gold medal match at the Tokyo Olympics.
Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, Australia’s Alex de Minaur and Hungarian Fabian Marozsan also all advanced.
Briton Andy Murray said he will be sidelined for an “extended period” after suffering a severe ankle injury during his 5-7 7-5 7-6(5) third-round loss to Tomas Machac on Sunday.
“Yesterday towards the end of my match in Miami I suffered a full rupture of my ATFL (anterior talofibular ligament) and near full thickness rupture of my CFL (calcaneofibular ligament),” the 36-year-old posted on Instagram.
“Goes without saying this is a tough one to take and I’ll be out for an extended period.”
