Alcaraz dominates Lajovic, Andreescu breezes past Kenin in Miami
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[March 27, 2023]
By Amy Tennery
(Reuters) -Carlos Alcaraz swatted aside Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-0
7-6(5) to keep his title defense on track at the Miami Open on
Sunday, as Canadian Bianca Andreescu cruised past American Sofia
Kenin in straight sets.
Spain's teen phenom won Indian Wells to retake the top ranking last
week and kept the momentum going at Hard Rock Stadium as he fired
off 26 winners to set up a fourth-round meeting with Australian Open
semi-finalist Tommy Paul.
"I always think that you have to go for it," he told the Tennis
Channel after the match. "That's what I told myself in (those) tough
moments."
Lajovic stunned three-times Grand Slam winner Andy Murray in the
first round but never hit his stride on Sunday, letting his only
break point chance slip through his fingers in the first set as the
U.S. Open winner put on a near-flawless performance.
Alcaraz converted on a break point in the third game of the second
set with an expertly placed forehand winner but helped his opponent
to a break in the 10th game with a handful of uncharacteristic
errors.
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Lajovic refused to go down without a fight, fending off three match
points in the tiebreak. But Alcaraz never lost his nerve and
clinched it with a blistering backhand winner before pumping his
fist triumphantly.
"Everything was under control," said Alcaraz, who greeted the Miami
Heat's six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler courtside after the match.
"But end of match is never easy. The nerves came out. I made a few
mistakes that I didn't do around the whole match. So it was tough to
win."
Former U.S. Open champion Andreescu harnessed her mighty serve to
topple Kenin 6-4 6-4, sending over seven aces as the 2020 Australian
Open winner failed to mount much of a defense after an early exit
from Indian Wells.
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![](../images/032723PIX/sports19.jpg)
Mar 26, 2023; Miami, Florida, US; Bianca
Andreescu (CAN) hits a forehand against Sophia Kenin (USA) (not
pictured) on day seven of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
![](../images/ads/current/graue_lda_4_2021.png)
The swift affair was welcome reprieve for Andreescu
after lengthy battles against first- and second-round opponents Emma
Raducanu of Britain and world number 10 Maria Sakkari, with
Ekaterina Alexandrova waiting in the round of 16.
"I definitely enjoy the challenge," she said in a televised
interview. "These victories are definitely very sweet and I've had
many tough matches against Sofia."
Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands stunned third seed Casper
Ruud 3-6 6-4 6-4, while Denmark's Holger Rune sent over seven aces
and 27 winners to stop Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-4 6-2. The
seventh seed next faces American Taylor Fritz.
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev advanced by walkover after Alex Molcan
withdrew, while his Russian compatriot Andrey Rublev beat Miomir
Kecmanovic 6-1 6-2. Italian Jannik Sinner beat Bulgarian Grigor
Dimitrov 6-3 6-4.
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka defeated 31st seed Marie
Bouzkova 6-1 6-2 and will next face former French Open champion
Barbora Krejcikova, who beat American Madison Keys 7-6(4) 6-3.
Olympic champion Belinda Bencic was knocked out 7-6(8) 6-3 by
Ekaterina Alexandrova.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York and Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru;
Editing by David Gregorio, Peter Rutherford)
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