Tuesday’s 6-4, 6-4 win over Tommy Paul by the world’s top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz propelled him into the ATP Miami Open quarterfinals, but second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas was eliminated by Russian Karen Khachanov. Alcaraz, the reigning Miami champion who also won at Indian Wells earlier this month, will compete against Taylor Fritz in the round of eight. Paul entered the match having defeated Spanish opponents 12 times in a row, including victories over Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal the previous year, but he was unable to gain an advantage.
The 19-year-old Spaniard, who delighted a cheering South Florida crowd with his powerful baseline strokes and willingness to move forward, used his increasingly effective drop shot once more to earn his ninth consecutive victory. Alcaraz said, “If I play at that level, I believe I will have a lot of opportunities to get through. I moved well, defended well, and countered.
“I’m at ease here. With all the vitality I get here in Miami every day, playing is simple. After having to wait a week for his Miami debut, Tsitsipas defeated Chilean Cristian Garin on Monday. However, he struggled against Khachanov and lost 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
The Greek has been dealing with a shoulder injury lately, but Khachanov broke a 23-match losing run against top-ten opponents and a six-match losing streak against Tsitsipas. His serve was consistent throughout, and in the fifth game of the second set, he broke Tsitsipas’ serve to love while maintaining his composure to secure the victory.
In the first set, both of us were serving fairly well. Then I went to the tie-break, and in the second set, I had to seize the chance as soon as it presented itself,” he said. American Fritz beat Denmark’s Holger Rune 6-3, 6-4 in a matchup of top-10 players to advance to Miami’s last eight for the first time in his career.
Before Tuesday’s match, Fritz defeated Emilio Nava and Denis Shapovalov in straight sets, and he was happy with his ability to go on the offensive. Fritz won at Delray Beach last month.
“My opponents hit every ball as hard as they could in my first two rounds, so I was unable to play aggressively. Although Rune still destroys the ball, it was pleasant to feel as though I had more time, according to Fritz.
“I couldn’t play my game in the first two rounds; I had to just make balls,” the player said. I was aggressive today when I had the opportunity to be, and all I wanted to do was serve well and try to limit the number of free points I gave him.
