MIAMI GARDENS, March 30: Daniil Medvedev is one win away from returning to No. 1. And Naomi Osaka is two wins away from being a tournament champion again.
Shaking off a slow start, the top-seeded Medvedev reached the quarterfinals of the Miami Open on Tuesday by defeating Jenson Brooksby of the U.S. 7-5, 6-1.
Medvedev has yet to drop a set in his three Miami matches. He’ll face No. 8 seed and defending Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz in the quarters – and if Medvedev prevails there, he’ll be assured of supplanting Novak Djokovic and returning to No. 1 in the world.
Brooksby jumped out to an immediate lead, breaking Medvedev’s first service game and wound up serving for the first set – two points away at 5-4, 30-15.
It was all Medvedev from there. Medvedev won 11 of the remaining 13 points in the set, breaking Brooksby to tie it up, holding at love for 6-5 and then breaking again to finish off the 7-5 win.
The second set was never in doubt, with Medvedev running out to a 3-0 lead and winning 16 of the 19 points on his serve.
No. 2 Alexander Zverev of Germany and No. 6 Casper Ruud of Norway will meet in another quarterfinal. Zverev beat Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia 6-4, 6-4, while Ruud ousted 10th-seeded Cameron Norrie of Britain 6-3, 6-4.
No. 9 Jannik Sinner of Italy also advanced, beating Nick Kyrgios of Australia 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Sinner will play Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the quarterfinals. Cerundolo beat No. 28 Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3) on Tuesday.
And the fourth men’s quarterfinal will see No. 14 Carlos Alcaraz against unseeded Miomir Kecmanovic – both of whom pulled off upsets Tuesday. Alcaraz beat No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-3. Kecmanovic ousted No. 13 Taylor Fritz in the nightcap, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
In women’s quarterfinal play, the unseeded Osaka – who hasn’t won a tournament since the 2021 Australian Open – made quick work of No. 9 Danielle Collins of the U.S. The former world No. 1 needed only an hour to overpower Collins 6-2, 6-1 and make the Miami semifinals for the first time.
Next up for Osaka: No. 22 Belinda Bencic. Bencic hasn’t faced a seeded player yet and hasn’t come close to dropping a set, making the semifinals with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Daria Saville.
Bencic has won 48 of the 65 games she’s played in the tournament. (AP)
