Miami Open 2023: Carlos Alcaraz begins sunshine double journey, advances to R3

Alcaraz easily defeated a foe who was seeking his first Top 10 victory and who never really settled into the second-round match on Hard Rock Stadium.

Carlos Alcaraz in a file photo. (Image Credits: twitter)
By Nilavro Ghosh | Mar 25, 2023 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

For the first time ever, Carlos Alcaraz entered the Miami Open on Friday while serving as the reigning champion of an ATP Masters 1000 event. In Florida, the Spaniard defeated Facundo Bagnis in just 65 minutes, winning 6-0, 6-2. Alcaraz easily defeated a foe who was seeking his first Top 10 victory and who never really settled into the second-round match on Hard Rock Stadium. Alcaraz needs to win the trophy in Miami to keep Novak Djokovic from unseating him as the top player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“I knew that I needed to be focused for my first match,” said Alcaraz after his win. “To start a new tournament is never easy, [and in] different conditions. I have to be ready to get used to these new conditions, but I was really focused on the match from the beginning, and I’m happy with the way that I played. I try to improve every day.”

After winning the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells last Sunday, the 19-year-old Alcaraz is now a three-time Masters 1000 champion and will become the youngest person to win the coveted “Sunshine Double” with another title run in Miami. The 30th seed Maxime Cressy or Dusan Lajovic will be the next obstacle in his path in Florida.

In Indian Wells a few days ago, Alcaraz put on a commanding performance to end Daniil Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak and win his second championship of the year. However, the Spaniard did not have to perform at his previous level during his Miami debut. Only seven of the first set’s points went to Bagnis, who had a disastrous opening to his first Masters 1000 match in a year.

Andrey Rublev flies into R3

Sixth seed Andrey Rublev recorded a strong start to the 2023 Miami Open campaign with a comfortable 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 win over home favourite JJ Wolf in the round of 64. Rublev hit a whopping 16 aces in the match and did not commit a single double fault. His win percentage on the first and second serves were 69% and 67% respectively. Rublev returned two out of seven available break points and won 10 service games. On the other hand, JJ Wolf hit seven aces, committed three double faults and only converted one out of six available break points.

Read More – Miami Open 2023: Andrey Rublev enters last 32 with dominant win over JJ Wolf

Rublev was eliminated in the last 16 of the Indian Wells by British tennis player Cameron Norrie. The Russian would have wanted to go the distance in the tournament but it was not meant to be. Still, he had some decent performances in the competition, defeating the likes of Ugo Humbert and Jiri Lehecka. The Russian reached the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships earlier in March where he was beaten by compatriot Daniil Medvedev.

Elena Rybakina defeats Anna Kalinskaya in Miami

Reigning Wimbledon and Indian Wells champion took a step closer to achieving the sunshine double this season as she beat Anna Kalinskaya 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in the round of 64 of the 2023 Miami Open. Ryabkina had let a set and a 4-1 lead slip but recovered quite well to win the match and set up a last 32 tie clash against Spaniard Paula Badosa.

“I’m happy that I managed to win,” Rybakina said. “I had chances in the second set to close it out but I was a little bit low on energy and she did a couple of good returns, one double-fault from me. So it didn’t go my way in the second but I’m happy that in the third I found my way and won.”





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