Miami (AFP) – World number two Jannik Sinner and fifth seed Jessica Pegula won on Saturday to reach the third round at the ATP and WTA Miami Open. Reigning Wimbledon champion Sinner dispatched 76th-ranked Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-3, 6-3 on the Florida hardcourts.
“First-round matches are never easy, so I’m very happy and let’s see what’s coming,” the 24-year-old Italian said. He will next face France’s 31st-ranked Corentin Moutet, who outlasted Czech Tomas Machac 6-0, 1-6, 6-4. Four-time Grand Slam winner Sinner, who won the 2024 Miami crown, captured his 25th career ATP title by beating Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells final last weekend. He is trying to become the first man to sweep the “Sunshine Double” by winning at Miami and Indian Wells since Roger Federer in 2017.
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Sinner broke for a 2-0 lead when Dzumhur sent a backhand long, and the Italian held serve from there to take the first set in 34 minutes, saving a break point in the seventh game with an ace. In the second set, Sinner broke for a 2-1 lead and broke again on match point with a backhand winner to end matters after 70 minutes, dropping only eight points on his serve in improving to 14-2 on the year.
“Starting off with a break straight away, I tried to be a bit aggressive,” Sinner said. “At times it worked very well, at times I made a couple of unforced errors. But I didn’t have a lot of time to adjust here. It’s very different than in Indian Wells.”
Former number one Medvedev struggled early but took a fightback victory over Japanese 19-year-old wildcard Rei Sakamoto 6-7 (10/12), 6-3, 6-1 to reach the third round. Medvedev needed two hours and four minutes to subdue Sakamoto, who was playing only his seventh tour-level match and facing his first top-10 opponent. Medvedev, the ninth seed, saved five set points, and Sakamoto saved one before the teen broke through to capture the first set in just under an hour when Medvedev sent a forehand wide, his 17th unforced error of the set.
In the second set, 2021 US Open champion Medvedev saved four break points in the third game, then took the first break of the match for a 4-2 lead when Sakamoto hit a backhand volley wide, then held on to force a third set, which the Russian dominated. Canadian seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced by defeating Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, into a third-round matchup with France’s Terence Atmane, who beat countryman Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
On the women’s side, Jessica Pegula advanced to the third round in only 38 minutes after Britain’s Francesca Jones retired due to illness, trailing 6-1, 3-0. “I was just trying to focus on myself, stay in there every point, stay super positive,” Pegula said. Pegula, last year’s Miami runner-up, will next face Canadian 26th seed Leylah Fernandez, who eliminated fellow left-hander Oksana Selekhmeteva 7-6 (7/1), 3-6, 6-1 in two hours and 25 minutes.
Japanese 14th seed Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam winner, was ousted by Australian qualifier Talia Gibson 7-5, 6-4. Gibson, a first-time WTA quarter-finalist at Indian Wells, next faces 18-year-old American 18th seed Iva Jovic, who eliminated Spain’s Paula Badosa 6-2, 6-1 in 76 minutes.
© 2024 AFP
