Kyrgios routs Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 6-1; Nadal retires due to health issues
Miami: Serena Williams won her 750th career match to stay on track for her ninth Miami Open title when she beat Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan 7-5 6-3 in the third round in Florida on Saturday.
The world number one improved her career record to 750-125, seventh on the all-time list and just three match wins behind Lindsay Davenport’s 753. Martina Navratilova sits atop the all-time list with 1,442 wins.
The 34-year-old Williams will meet Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round. The 15th seed defeated France’s Caroline Garcia 4-6 6-2 7-6(6).
Unlike the last time they met, when Williams required 54 minutes and Diyas won just two games, the 22-year-old Kazak gave the American some trouble in the heat and humidity of Miami.
Andy Murray moves into the third
Britain’s Andy Murray moved into the third round of the ATP and WTA Miami Open on Saturday but Rafael Nadal, dizzy as he struggled to cope with heat and humidity, retired from his match.
World number two Murray, twice a Grand Slam champion, downed Uzbekistan’s 76th-ranked Denis Istomin 6-3, 7-5 to reach the third round in a night match.
Nadal retires
Spaniard Rafa Nadal retired during a match for the first time in more than six years when he quit during his second-round encounter against Damir Dzumhur at the Miami Open.
Sporadic boos greeted 14-times grand slam champion Nadal when he called it a day after seemingly feeling ill during the third set of his encounter in oppressive humidity in south Florida.
The 94th-ranked Dzumhur, of Bosnia, led 2-6 6-4 3-0 at the time, and was up 30-15 on serve. The last time Nadal quit during a match was in a quarter-final against Andy Murray at the 2010 Australian Open. There was no immediate comment on the exact nature of Nadal’s problem, but it seemed not to be injury-related.
Nishikori, Kyrgios advance
Nishikori advanced to the third round by downing 107th-ranked French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-2, 7-6 (7/4).
The 2014 US Open runner-up, coming off a fourth consecutive title at Memphis last month, next meets Ukraine’s 27th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Australian 24th seed Nick Kyrgios routed Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 6-1, to set a third-round date with 132nd-ranked US qualifier Tim Smyczek, who outlasted John Isner 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5). (Agencies)