Tennis: Alexandrova Upsets No.1 Swiatek In Miami Fourth Round; Garcia Topples Gauff

Tennis: Alexandrova upsets No.1 Swiatek in Miami fourth round; Garcia topples Gauff (Image Source: IANS)

Miami Open Round: Ekaterina Alexandrova ended Iga Swiatek's quest for a second sweep of the Sunshine Double, defeating the World No.1 6-4, 6-2 in the Miami Open Round of 16.

The victory is Alexandrova's first career win over a reigning World No.1 and puts her into her third WTA 1000 quarterfinal.

A quarterfinalist in Miami last year, Alexandrova will face No.5 Jessica Pegula on Wednesday.

Swiatek came from a set down to defeat 26th seed Linda Noskova 24 hours earlier, but she struggled to find any traction on Monday night. Despite serving at 71 per cent of her first serves in, Swiatek was broken three times in the match.

Meanwhile, No.23 seed Caroline Garcia of France moved into the Miami Open quarterfinals for the first time in her career with a gritty 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 upset of No.3 seed and local hope Coco Gauff.

Monday victory marked Garcia's first win over a Top 10 player since the end of 2022, when she notched four Top 10 wins en route to the title at the 2022 WTA Finals (including a round-robin victory over Gauff), according to WTA.

Before ousting reigning US Open champion Gauff, Garcia beat four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka for the second time this year in the previous round.

Up next for Garcia is a player she has never defeated, Danielle Collins

Collins, the 2022 Australian Open runner-up, defeated Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-2 to reach her third career Miami Open quarterfinal.

In other women's singles action, two-time Miami Open semifinalist Jessica Pegula returned to the quarterfinals at Hard Rock Stadium with a 7-6(1), 6-3 win over fellow American Emma Navarro in Monday night's fourth round.

Pegula is the first American to reach three consecutive quarterfinals in Miami since Serena Williams (2012-15).