MIAMI – Carlos Alcaraz swatted aside Serb Dusan Lajovic 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) to keep his title defence on track at the Miami Open on Sunday.
Spain’s teen phenomenon won Indian Wells to retake the top ranking last week and kept the momentum going at Hard Rock Stadium.
He fired 27 winners to set up a fourth-round meeting with Australian Open semi-finalist Tommy Paul.
Lajovic stunned three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray in the first round, but never hit his stride on Sunday. He let his only break-point chance slip through his fingers in the first set as the US Open winner put on a near-flawless performance.
Alcaraz converted on a break point in the third game of the second set with an expertly placed forehand winner. But he helped his opponent to a break in the 10th game with a handful of uncharacteristic errors.
Lajovic refused to go down without a fight, fending off three match points in the tiebreak.
The 19-year-old Spaniard never lost his nerve, though, clinching it with a blistering backhand winner before pumping his fist triumphantly.
“Everything was under control,” said Alcaraz, who greeted the Miami Heat’s six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler courtside after the match.
“But end of match is never easy. The nerves came out. I made a few mistakes that I didn’t do around the whole match. So it was tough to win.”
Meanwhile, Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands stunned third seed Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, while Denmark’s Holger Rune stopped Argentinian Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-2. The seventh seed next faces American Taylor Fritz.
“Ninety-five per cent of the match was played on my terms, which was what I wanted,” Rune said.
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev advanced after Alex Molcan withdrew, while his fellow Russian Andrey Rublev beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 6-2.
In the women’s event, Canadian Bianca Andreescu cruised past American Sofia Kenin in straight sets. Former US Open champion Andreescu harnessed her mighty serve to topple Kenin 6-4, 6-4, sending over seven aces as the 2020 Australian Open winner failed to mount much of a defence after an early exit from Indian Wells.
The swift affair was a welcome reprieve for Andreescu after lengthy battles against first- and second-round opponents Emma Raducanu of Britain and Greece’s world No. 10 Maria Sakkari.
Next up for the Canadian in the round of 16 is Ekaterina Alexandrova, who defeated Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 7-6 (10-8), 6-3.
Injury in 2020 sidelined Andreescu and then the Covid-19 pandemic blocked any chance of regaining momentum. At the end of 2021, she decided to take six months off.
“It was honestly me wanting to figure out if I really want to continue playing tennis,” she said.
“I wasn’t happy basically for the full year of 2021. So I was like, OK, let’s take a break. Hopefully that helps. And it really did.”
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka defeated 31st seed Marie Bouzkova 6-1, 6-2 and will next face former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, who beat American Madison Keys 7-6, (7-4), 6-3. AFP
