For van de Zandschulp, it is a momentous occasion as he recorded his first ever top-five win, and will be now looking to go the distance in Miami with his new found confidence.
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Third seed Casper Ruud suffered a shock loss in the last 32 of the 2023 Miami Open on Monday after he was defeated by 26th seed Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 4-6, 4-6. Despite going a set up, the Norwegian tennis player could not carry the form into the remainder of the match as he was defeated quite comfortably in the final couple of sets. For van de Zandschulp, it is a momentous occasion as he recorded his first ever top-five win, and will be now looking to go the distance in Miami with his new found confidence.
“It was an unbelievable tough match,” said van de Zandschulp, the 26th seed. “He had so many chances in the third set. When I broke back for 3-2 I was holding and had a feeling that I had a chance in his service games. At 5-4 I had one opportunity and I took it.” The match was a pretty sloppy affair as both player made 30 unforced errors. Things for Ruud went sideways since he could only return two out of 15 break points, including one out of eight in the final set.
On the other hand, the Dutchman recorded 12 aces and returned three out of six break points. His win percentages on the first and second serves were 67% and 49% respectively. He also won 12 service games to seal the deal and earn a place in the last eight of the Miami Open.
Twitter went ballistic after Ruud’s loss as most fans were backing the Norwegian to bag the title in Miami. Here are some of the best tweets:
Reigning Indian Wells champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the round of 16 of the 2023 Miami Open after a comprehensive victory over unseeded Serbian Dusan Lajovic. Alcaraz registered three aces and returned four out of five break points to register a 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) victory on Sunday. His win percentages on the first and second serves were 71% and 44% respectively. The Spaniard also managed to win eight service games to win the match.
Alcaraz, who is the top seed, defeated Facundo Bagnis in the round of 64 6-0, 6-2 on Saturday. The Spanish teenager has won two tournaments this season already, despite not being available for the Australian Open. He first won the Argentina Open where he defeated Cameron Norrie in the final. The two faced off again in the final of the Rio Open but it was Norrie who came out on top that time by a score of 7-5, 4-6, 5-7.
The Spaniard’s latest success came at the Indian Wells Masters where he defeated an in-form Daniil Medvedev in comprehensive fashion. The score at the end of the match was 6-3, 6-2 and Alcaraz was crowned the 2023 Indian Wells champion. The result propelled him to the top of world tennis again and now, he looks to bag the sunshine double.
