Alcaraz, Fritz, Andreescu advance to Miami Open 3rd round
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, returns a shot from Facundo Bagnis, of Argentina, during the Miami Open tennis tournament, Friday, March 24, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Credit: AP/Wilfredo Lee
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Carlos Alcaraz picked up a straight-set win at the Miami Open Friday to keep his world No. 1 ranking over idle Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic is not participating in the Miami Open because he still can’t travel to the United States as a foreign citizen who is not vaccinated against COVID-19.
The 19-year-old Alcaraz, who beat Casper Ruud in the 2022 U.S. Open final for his first No. 1 ranking, defeated Facundo Bagnis 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the third round.
No. 1 American and No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz began his tournament campaign with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Emilio Nava. Fritz is 17-1 in his opening rounds of hard court tournaments since the start of 2022, with his only loss coming at the 2022 US Open to No. 303 Brandon Holt.
Fritz will next face No. 24 Denis Shapovalov, who defeated Guido Pella on Friday.
On the women's side, Bianca Andreescu — the 2019 U.S. Open champion — came from a set down to oust No. 7 seed Maria Sakkari 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Andreescu improved to 2-1 over Sakkari, with both wins coming in Miami.
Andreescu will face Sofia Kenin in the third round.
Bianca Andreescu, of Canada, reacts to winning a game against Maria Sakkari, of Greece, during the Miami Open tennis tournament, Friday, March 24, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Credit: AP/Michael Laughlin
No. 5 Caroline Garcia lost to Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-3. Cirstea beat Garcia 10 days ago in the fourth round at Indian Wells, and will face Karolína Muchová next.
In other action, Varvara Gracheva defeated No. 4 Ons Jabeur 6-2, 6-2; and Jannik Sinner beat Laslo Đere 6-4, 6-2.
