Rybakina tops Pegula to reach women's final in Miami; top-ranked Alcaraz beats Fritz

31.03.2023 - 07:55 cbc.ca

The hopes of American men's tennis rest largely on the talented rackets of Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul. But a Spanish roadblock named Carlos Alcaraz is in the way — never more illustrated by the last few days at the Miami Open.

Two days after routing the Australian Open semifinalist Paul, the top-ranked Alcaraz took his spectacular arsenal to the highest-ranked American man in No.

10 Fritz and blasted into the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at Hard Rock Stadium. In the women's draw, Elena Rybakina advanced to Saturday's finals with a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Jessica Pegula in a match delayed twice by rain.

Rybakina, the reigning Wimbledon champion, won her 13th straight match and is seeking to become the fifth woman to achieve the "sunshine double" — back-to-back titles in the hard-court tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami.

tennis Arsenal Elena Rybakina Carlos Alcaraz Tommy Paul Taylor Fritz Spain Usa Australia county Miami India county Wells

Taylor Fritz knocked out defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2 6-4 to seal his place in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time. Tsitsipas was on a 12-match winning streak in Monte Carlo heading into the clash with the American, but Fritz was able to overcome the world No. 2 in straight sets in one hour and 12 minutes.

Medvedev beats Sinner in straight sets to clinch Miami Open title

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida: Daniil Medvedev won his fourth ATP title of the year Sunday, beating Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-3 in the Miami Open to move to 6-0 in their career matchup.

Petra Kvitova beats Elena Rybakina in WTA Miami Open 2023 Final, ending hopes of 'Sunshine Double' for Rybakina

Petra Kvitova beat Elena Rybakina 7-6(14) 6-2 to claim the Miami Open, her 30th career title. Victory improves Kvitova's world ranking to No. 10, and came as something of a surprise after a dominant run by her opponent.

Kvitova wins Miami Open, beating Rybakina

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.

Petra Kvitova upsets Elena Rybakina for women's Miami Open title

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Twelfth-seeded veteran Petra Kvitova, in her 13th appearance at the Miami Open, finally won her first crown here, upsetting seventh-seeded Elena Rybakina on Saturday with a marathon tiebreaker in a 7-6 (14), 6-2 win.

Sinner downs Alcaraz to set up Miami final with Medvedev

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.