INDIAN WELLS (United States) – World number one Aryna Sabalenka reached the last 16 at the Miami Open when Elena-Gabriela Ruse retired injured, while men’s top seed Alexander Zverev beat Jacob Fearnley 6-2 6-4 to reach the third round.
Sabalenka, who arrived in Miami fresh off a loss in last week’s Indian Wells final, wrapped up the first set 6-1 before Romanian Ruse was forced to retire with a right thigh injury.
Naomi Osaka won 7-6(6) 3-6 6-4 against American wild card Hailey Baptiste to set up a clash with Italian sixth seed Jasmine Paolini, who advanced when Ons Jabeur, trailing 4-3 in the opening set, had to retire with a left leg injury.
Zverev’s title hopes received a boost when second-seed Carlos Alcaraz crashed out with a shock defeat to Belgian veteran David Goffin.
With no Jannik Sinner while the Italian serves a doping ban, the German Zverev’s main challenger, on paper, should be Novak Djokovic.
Zverev lost his opening game at Indian Wells but looked sharp on his debut on the South Florida stadium court.
“I’m generally happy with my level,” said Zverev, the 2018 Miami finalist.
“In Indian Wells it was very different, so I hope I can continue playing this way and have a great week here,” he said according to AFP.
The 27-year-old took 74 minutes to take care of business against Fearnley and said his extra time off as a result of his surprise defeat to Tallon Griekspoor had been valuable.
“I had to start thinking about my game again, thinking about how can I improve and how can I get better?” he said.
“Had two weeks’ time to practice and work on my game again and I did that – hopefully this is the first of many matches for me here,” he added.
There was an upset for 13th seeded Ben Shelton, the third ranked American who was knocked out by 20-year-old wildcard Coleman Wong of Hong Kong.
Wong, 128th in the world, battled his way to a 7-6 (7/3) 2-6, 7-6 (7/5) victory despite letting a slip a 5-2 lead in the final set.
His victory provides him with a place in the third round of a Masters 1000 for the first time in his career.
“I always trust myself to play in these big stages. I had a tough time [during] the Covid times. I didn’t play for a year and a half and I’m really lucky my team keeps supporting me. I’m really happy and this is for you Hong Kong,” said Wong.
World No 3 Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit from the Miami Open as Belgian veteran David Goffin fought back for an inspired 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win.
The 34-year-old Goffin beat Alcaraz three years ago in Astana in their last meeting and, sensing the Spaniard was far from his best in the opening set, he went on the attack.
The 55th-ranked Goffin, whose world ranking reached No 7 in 2017, struck some glorious winners while Alcaraz was struggling with unforced errors.
The slightly built Goffin was up by a break in all three sets but having let Alcaraz recover in the first he showed poise and calm to stay on top.
“When I came out earlier… just to warm up on the court, I felt ‘I’m moving well. I’m feeling quite relaxed. I’m hitting the ball really well’ and so I hoped it would be the same during the match.
“I started the match well. I had the break in the first and he started to play really well at the end of the first.
“It’s that kind of night that I will remember for sure – against Carlos and in a stadium like that. And the night that gave me a lot of confidence to continue,” he added.
