MIAMI GARDENS, March 24: ndian Wells champion and second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz began his Miami Open campaign with an emphatic 6-2, 6-1 victory over fellow Spaniard Roberto Carballés Baena on Saturday night.
The 20-year-old Alcaraz, who is the reigning Wimbledon champion, dominated the match from start to finish with his impressive speed and agility. He saved all three break points he faced to pick up his seventh straight win.
Earlier, Jannik Sinner advanced to the third round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fellow Italian Andrea Vavassori. The third-ranked Sinner, the Australian Open champion and last year’s Miami Open runner-up, had to wait overnight to clinch the opening victory at Miami after rain forced a suspension of the match on Friday with Sinner leading 3-2.
Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev started strong in his title defence, beating Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics on Grandstand 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour and 19 minutes.
The match had been scheduled as the feature night match on Stadium court on Friday but was cancelled due to rain. But the switch to afternoon conditions and Grandstand court proved no barrier to the World No. 4, had won 81% of his first serve points and was able to save the only two break points he face.
Medvedev is attempting to successfully defend a title for the first time in his career. The 28-year-old has won 20 different titles, including 18 on hard court.
Andy Murray advanced to the third round with a 7-6, 6-3 victory over 29th-ranked Tomás Martín Etcheverry. That match was also suspended on Friday because of rain. Murray, who won the Miami title in 2009 and 2013, snapped a nine-match losing streak against top 50 players with the win and has now played 995 career tour-level matches.
In women’s play, top-ranked Iga Świątek, coming off an Indian Wells title last week, defeated Camila Giorgi 6-1, 6-1 in just over an hour. The victory gave Świątek 81 wins in the first 100 matches of her career at the WTA-1000 level. Only Serena Williams (87) had more wins in her first 100 matches at that level.
Naomi Osaka continued her comeback journey by defeating 17th-ranked Elina Svitolina 6-2, 7-6 (5). Osaka, who is comng off a third-round loss at Indian Wells, now has two wins over top 20 opponents in her last four matches. (Agencies)
