Miami, March 23
Indian Wells champion Dominic Thiem’s bid for a ‘Sunshine Slam’ met with a quick end as he fell 6-4 6-4 to Hubert Hurkacz in the Miami Open second round on Friday, while world No. 1 Novak Djokovic wasted little time in dispatching Bernard Tomic.
The 22-year-old Hurkacz broke third seed Thiem four times, including in the final games of each set, to record the biggest win of his career.
Austrian Thiem, who beat Roger Federer on Sunday to win his first career Masters 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Open, was uncharacteristically sloppy on the Grandstand court.
Kei Nishikori was also sent packing from the second round after Serbian Dusan Lajovic stunned the Japanese world No. 6 2-6 6-2 6-3.
The fifth seed had a first-round bye and appeared heading for a routine victory until Lajovic, who was misfiring in the early stages of the match, suddenly stepped up his game.
Nishikori, playing in his first match since falling in the third round at Indian Wells last week, had his serve broken five times during the match.
Next up for world No. 44 Lajovic, who had lost in the first round of five tour-level events this season, will be a clash with Nick Kyrgios after the Australian defeated qualifier Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 7-5 6-3.
Djokovic needed just over an hour to brush aside Australian Tomic 7-6(2) 6-2 and advance to the third round of a tournament he has won six times. The Serb improved his record to 6-0 against Tomic.
In other men’s matches, seventh seed John Isner beat Italian Lorenzo Sonego, 11th seed Borna Coric beat Roberto Carballes Baena, Briton Kyle Edmund beat Belarusian Ilya Ivashka, Gilles Simon lost to French compatriot Jeremy Chardy and Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia beat German Mischa Zverev.
Canadian Milos Raonic, the 12th seed, also advanced when Germany’s Maximillian Marterer withdrew due to knee pain while 16th seed Gael Monfils pulled out of the tournament with an injury.
Rollercoaster start for Osaka
World No. 1 Naomi Osaka endured a rollercoaster start to the Miami Open on Friday, advancing to the third round with a 6-0 6-7(3) 6-1 win over Belgian Yanina Wickmayer.
After facing eight-times Miami champion Serena Williams in her first match last year, Osaka might have expected an easier opener on Friday against the 141st-ranked Belgian qualifier.
Yet that was not the case as she needed more than two hours to dispose of her Belgian opponent, having dispatched the 23-times grand slam singles champion 6-3 6-2 a year earlier.
“It was really hard for me, I think, emotionally in the second set because I just started thinking about winning, not exactly the things I could do in order to win,” said Osaka.
“I had a bit of a dip. She was also playing really well.”
The first match on Stadium Court, the contest again looked like it might wrap up before the late arrivals had settled in but it turned into a head scratcher for Osaka that ebbed and flowed between dominance and despair.
Serena returns to form
Serena Williams regained her form after a shaky second set to dispatch Rebecca Peterson of Sweden 6-3 1-6 6-1 to set up a third-round clash with China’s Wang Qiang.
“I knew I could play a lot better than I was playing,” Williams said of her error-ridden second set.
It was the 10th-seeded American’s first time on court since retiring during her third-round match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells with an illness earlier this month.
After a dramatic comeback win in her opening match, Canadian teen Bianca Andreescu took a more confident step towards the ‘Sunshine Double’, disposing of American 22nd seed Sofia Kenin 6-3 6-3 to reach the third round. The youngest player to win Indian Wells since Serena Williams in 1999, Andreescu is bidding to become just the fourth woman to win both there and Miami back-to-back in the same year.
While Andreescu’s run continues, two other promising American teenagers saw their time in Miami come to an end. After picking up her first career WTA Tour event win on Thursday, 15-year-old Cori Gauff fell to 14th-seeded Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-3 6-2 while 17-year-old Amanda Anisimova lost 6-3 1-6 6-4 to Estonian Anett Kontaveit.
World No. 2 Petra Kvitova was extended to three sets before she overcame Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the third round. Kvitova finally prevailed 6-4 3-6 6-4 in the clash between two hitters. — Reuters
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