Top seed Alexander Zverev recovered from a slow start to power into the fourth round with a 7-5, 6-4 win against Australia’s Jordan Thompson at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday.
The German was 4-1 down in the first set but then went on a roll winning eight of the next nine games to ensure progress to the next round.
Zverev lost in the opening round at Indian Wells but with Carlos Alcaraz already out in Miami he will fancy his chances of adding to his list of seven Masters 1000 titles.
“Jordan made it difficult for me for sure. He’s a quality player,” said Zverev.
“When you’re in rhythm, he knows how to break it a little bit. So he did extremely well today. I’m happy with my level from 1-4 onwards,” he added.
Third-seed Taylor Fritz also moved into the fourth round beating Denis Shapovalov of Canada 7-5, 6-3.
The American let slip a 5-2 lead in the first set, but regained control with his serve proving too much for Shapovalov.
In the women’s draw, top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka eased her way into the last eight with a 6-4, 6-4 win over last year’s winner Danielle Collins of the USA.
Next, Sabalenka will be up against ninth seed Zheng Qinwen who reached her second consecutive WTA 1000 quarter-final, with a straight-sets win over Ashlyn Krueger.
Italy’s Jasmine Paolini enjoyed a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 comeback win over Naomi Osaka in 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Since her comeback from maternity leave 15 months ago, Osaka has been showing some signs of getting back towards her best but Paolini was the first top 10 player Osaka has faced this year.
“I don’t think that I can say that I’ve played a lot of matches against top players like this in a while,” said Osaka.
“The way she plays kind of catches me off guard, simply because of her height. I didn’t know she could hit like that,” she added.
AFP
