Tennis: Tsitsipas, Pegula advance at 2023 Miami Open - UPI.com
Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece celebrates after beating Cristian Garín from Chile at the Miami Open on Monday in Miami Gardens, Fla. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla., March 27 (UPI) -- Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas fired a dozen aces and survived a late rally to beat Chilean Cristian Garin in a three-set tennis thriller and advance to Round of 16 at the 2023 Miami Open on Monday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
American Jessica Pegula later clinched a spot in the women's singles quarterfinals with a straight-sets win over Magda Linette of Poland.
Tsitsipas, ranked No. 3 in the world, converted two break points in his 2-hour, 4-minute victory. Garin fired seven aces, 40 winners and converted one break opportunity on the court inside Hard Rock Stadium.
Tsitsipas, who received a first-round bye and advanced on a second-round walkover, will meet Russian Karen Khachanov in the Round of 16.
"I was waiting for a very long time to get out and play," Tsitsipas told the ATP in an on-court interview. "It has almost felt like a vacation this past week, staying in Miami.
"I'm glad I got started. It was a difficult match against an opponent who has played good tennis against good opponents."
The winner of the Tsitsipas-Khachanov match will meet Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, Frances Tiafoe of the United States or Lorenzo Sonego of Italy in the quarterfinals.
No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia also moved on to the Round of 16 on Monday after Slovakian foe Alex Molcan withdrew from their third-round match due to a hip injury.
Medvedev will face No. 79 Quentin Halys of France in the fourth round.
Halys beat No. 55 Mackenzie McDonald of the United States in straight sets Monday in the grandstand stadium.
Earlier Monday, Khachanov advanced with a straight-sets win over Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic. The 16th-ranked Russian totaled eight aces and converted 3 of 9 break point opportunities.
On the women's side, No. 26 Anastasia Potapova of Russia -- who beat No. 6 Coco Gauff of the United States in the third round, bounced Qinwen Zheng of China in straight sets Monday to reach the quarterfinals. Potapova converted 4 of 5 break points.
Pegula, ranked No. 3, beat Linette 6-1, 7-5 in her Round of 16 match. The American needed just 78 minutes to claim that victory. She will meet Potapova in the quarterfinals.
"It's going to be really tough," Pegula said in her on-court interview with the Tennis Channel. "I just played her in Indian Wells and we really had a battle.
"She was playing at a really high level. She has been, for the last two, three tournaments she's been playing well. She's confident right now, she's swinging for the fences."
No. 24 Martina Trevisan of Italy advanced with a straight sets win over No. 22 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia. She will meet No. 7 Elena Rybakina of Kazakstan or No. 39 Elise Mertens of Belgium in the quarterfinals.
Romanian Sorana Cirstea beat Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets in another women's singles Round of 16 match.
Rybakina and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will be among the top women's players in action later Monday in Miami Gardens. Cirstea will face Sabalenka or No. 13 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in the quarterbacks.
Tiafoe and No. 9 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland will be among the top men's players in action.
The Miami Open women's singles final will be at 3 p.m. EDT Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. The men's final will be at 1 p.m. Sunday on the same court. Those matches will air on the Tennis Channel.
