Djokovic marches into Miami quarters as Zheng exits

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — Novak Djokovic cruised into the quarterfinals of the Miami Open on Tuesday with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Italian Lorenzo Musetti in one hour 22 minutes.

Musetti, the 15th seed from Tuscany, got off to a flying start to take a 2-0 lead in the first set, but then proceeded to lose the next nine games as the Serb, looking confident and sharp, ran away with the game.

Djokovic has won the Miami Open on six occasions, but has not featured in the quarters since his last victory here in 2016.

The 37-year-old is now just three wins away from winning his 100th tour-level title.

"He had a really good start to the match. First couple of games, I started a little bit slow, and, then, I knew that if I give him time, he's going to make his shots," Djokovic said.

"He loves kind of running around his backhand, hitting forehands. But he is so talented, he can play any shot in the game on any surface.

"It was tough, particularly in the first seven, eight games of the match. But, I think breaking his serve to come back to two-all and break right away at 3-2, it was a momentum shift, and I tried to use that," he added.

Djokovic will face American Sebastian Korda on Wednesday for a place in the semifinals, after the 24th seed beat French veteran Gael Monfils 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in a rain-affected match.

Korda visibly struggled with his wrist, however, and said after the match that he had been in discomfort with an injury that has caused him trouble in the past.

"It's pretty painful right now, we'll see how it goes tomorrow. Will do a lot of work with my physio now, we'll see how it is tomorrow.

"I haven't played a lot of tournaments this year. Hopefully, I can play some good tennis and see where it takes me," he said.

Argentine Francisco Cerundolo upset fifth-seed Casper Ruud 6-4,6-2 to take his place in the last eight.

Cerundolo, who enjoys plenty of support from South Florida's large Argentine community, has now reached the last eight in three of his past four appearances at Miami.

"I'm super happy. It's always difficult when you're playing a really good match, controlling the game, and you have to stop for rain," he said.

"It's not easy, but I was chill, and came back to the match confident and played a really good service game. I'm super happy to get back-to-back Masters 1000 quarterfinals in the US, on hard courts. It's a great achievement," he said.

Next up for Cerundolo is 14th seed, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated American Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 7-5.

A day after a thrilling three-set win over Brazilian Joao Fonseca, Australia's Alex de Minaur was eliminated by 10th-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini who triumphed 6-3, 7-6 (7).

China ace out

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka battled back in the second set to blast her way into the semifinals of the Miami Open with a 6-2, 7-5 win over China's Zheng Qinwen on Tuesday.

The victory gives Sabalenka her first appearance in the last four at Miami, with a clash against Italy's Jasmine Paolini standing between her and a place in the final.

It looked like it was going to be routine business for the Belarussian against the ninth-seeded Zheng when Sabalenka took the first set comfortably.

But, Zheng had worked something out between sets and came out firing, breaking Sabalenka twice to open up a 4-2 lead in the second.

Sabalenka was in real trouble at 0-40 down but, after some signs of anger, was able to fight back to hold for 4-4 and then turned her aggression into a powerful finale.

With some blistering returns, the top seed broke to go 6-5, and then, with her serve at full force, confidently held on to secure the win.

"Honestly, every match is tough against her, I always have to work really hard to get the win, and today was an incredible level from both of us," said Sabalenka.

"I'm super happy to get this win. I'm super happy with the way I handled all the emotions and handled the pressure," she added.

Earlier, Paolini moved into the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Poland's Magda Linette.

Paolini, beaten in the finals at Wimbledon and the French Open last year, becomes the first Italian to make it to the last four in Miami.

Paolini, who is looking for her second title at the WTA 1000 level, after last year's triumph in Dubai, looked confident, and said she had known her form would start to bring her results.

AFP