Cirstea upsets Sabalenka to reach Miami Open semifinals; night matches rained out

The 2023 clay season is here. With the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami Open done and dusted, it’s time to move onto the next stage of the calendar, which features two WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome, before the French Open. Ad Last year the WTA clay season was dominated by world No.

MIAMI GARDENS, United States: Petra Kvitova drew on all her experience to claim her 30th WTA singles title with a straight sets Miami Open victory over Elena Rybakina on Saturday. Czech Kvitova, appearing in her first Miami final at the age of 33, triumphed 7-6 (16/14) 6-2 at Hard Rock Stadium, a victory which will return the veteran to the top 10 in the world rankings. Rybakina came into the final on a career-best 13-match winning streak after winning the title at Indian Wells and was looking for the rare ‘Sunshine Double’ of both WTA Masters events.

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida: Italy’s Jannik Sinner ended Carlos Alcaraz’s hopes of the “Sunshine Double” and his reign as world number one, triumphing 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-2 in their Miami Open semifinal on Friday. Sinner will meet Russian Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s final while Alcaraz will lose his number one ranking to Novak Djokovic. Medvedev reached his fifth straight ATP Tour final with a 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-3 win over fellow Russian Karen Khachanov. The disappointment for the 19-year-old Alcaraz, the defending champion in Miami and coming off a title at Indian Wells, will be tinged with frustration after he struggled in the third set with leg cramps. It had been an enthralling and entertaining power-hitting performance from both men in the first set, won by the Spaniard after a tie-break, but an inspired Sinner fought back in the second. Sinner broke in the first game and although Alcaraz broke back to make it 2-2, the 21-year-old Italian sensed his moment was arriving and showed confidence in his powerful groundstrokes. Sinner broke again to go 5-4 up and then held for the set to end Alcaraz’s streak of 21 winning sets. The world number one was moving with difficulty and was broken on his first serve in the deciding set. Looking in discomfort, he crouched down on his baseline in between points and shot some worried and confused looks to his team in the stands. Sinner lost his focus for a while, his blistering shots replaced by some conservative strokes but he soon regained focus as he ran out the winner in three hours.

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida: Daniil Medvedev hasn’t won a title in the United States since capturing the 2021 US Open, when he turned away Novak Djokovic’s bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam. Now the Miami Open’s No. 4 seed is one victory from a fresh American title, beating fellow Russian Karen Khachanov 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3 in the semifinals Friday, the same day Wimbledon announced Russians will be allowed back — with conditions.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka said she has withdrawn from next week's Charleston Open after picking up an injury in Miami.

MIAMIA GARDENS, Florida: World number one Carlos Alcaraz and in-form Russian Daniil Medvedev booked their places in the Miami Open semifinals with convincing victories over American opponents at Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday. Alcaraz crushed ninth-seed Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-2, while Medvedev ended qualifier Christopher Eubanks’ impressive run with a 6-3, 7-5 victory in their quarter-final. Alcaraz needed just 78 minutes to dismiss Fritz with the Spaniard yet again dominating with his big serve and attacking the American from the outset.