Swiatek, Gauff stunned in Miami Open fourth round

 

[March 26, 2024]  (Reuters) -Iga Swiatek's hopes of landing another 'Sunshine Double' ended in a 6-4 6-2 fourth round loss to Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday as the world number one joined third seed Coco Gauff in making an early exit from the Miami Open.

Swiatek, who won the first leg of the Sunshine Double at Indian Wells earlier this month, was completely outplayed by the Russian world number 16, who claimed the biggest win of her career.

"I just went out on the court and did my best, I think it went quite well," said Alexandrova.

Top seed Swiatek, who captured the Sunshine Double in 2022, never broke Alexandrova's serve and had no answer to her powerful and precise groundstrokes under the lights in South Florida.

Alexandrova, seeded 14th, will next face fifth seed Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals after she overcame fellow American Emma Navarro 7-6(1) 6-3.

Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia's serve was clicking early in her battle against Gauff and she never faced a break point in the opening set before the American raised her level to even the affair at a set apiece.

In the first game of the deciding set, Garcia fended off four break points to hold serve and broke at love to take a 2-0 lead she would not relinquish against her 20-year-old opponent.

"I think I stayed positive and optimistic about my serve," Garcia said about the five break points she saved.

"The first game of the third set was quite important for me and maybe for her also and I got a little bit lucky because my forehand was catching the line but also I went for it, so maybe it's my reward."

Next up for Garcia is American Danielle Collins, who beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3 6-2.

'TOUGH ONE'

Fourth seed Elena Rybakina powered past Madison Keys 6-3 7-5 to dispatch Florida resident Keys and will next meet a well-rested Maria Sakkari after the Greek eighth seed got a walkover into the quarter-finals.

Rybakina was more efficient than Keys, winning just over 80% of her first serve points and converting three of her eight break points during the 84-minute encounter.

"Really happy with my performance today," Kazakhstan's Rybakina said in her on-court interview. "It was a tough one.

Mar 25, 2024; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Ekaterina Alexandrova (L) shakes hands with Iga Swiatek (POL) (R) after their match on day eight of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

"With Madison it's always difficult matches and she's an aggressive player so I knew that I needed to be ready for every point and especially on the return."

In other early women's matches, Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva beat Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina, the 32nd seed, 6-4 7-6(5).

Sakkari was scheduled to play in the day's opening match on the Grandstand court but advanced without hitting a ball as Russia's Anna Kalinskaya withdrew ahead of their fourth-round match due to health issues.

Kalinskaya, the 22nd seed, arrived in Miami following a third round defeat at Indian Wells where a stomach ailment forced her to miss a few days of practice.

The 25-year-old Kalinskaya reached the round of 16 in Miami without dropping a set in wins over China's Wang Xiyu and Latvian ninth seed Jelena Ostapenko.

"I'm so sorry I was really looking forward to playing today, but unfortunately my health doesn't allow me. Thank you for your support," said Kalinskaya.

Rybakina owns a 2-1 record in head-to-head meetings with Sakkari, who lost to Swiatek in the Indian Wells final.

"Tough opponent and I'm going to try to do my best to prepare as much as I can and try to be fresh physically," said Rybakina. "I think it's going to be a tough one but hopefully it goes my way."

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, Nick Mulvenney in Sydney and Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris, Lincoln Feast and Peter Rutherford.)

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