Tennis-Top seeds Zverev and Sabalenka advance at Miami Open
TENNIS-MIAMI/ (PIX, TV):Tennis-Top seeds Zverev and Sabalenka advance at Miami Open
March 22 - World number one Aryna Sabalenka reached the last 16 at the Miami Open when Elena-Gabriela Ruse retired injured on Saturday, while men's top seed Alexander Zverev beat Jacob Fearnley 6-2 6-4 to reach the third round.
Sabalenka, who arrived in Miami fresh off a loss in last week's Indian Wells final, wrapped up the first set 6-1 before Romanian Ruse was forced to retire with a right thigh injury.
Up next for three-times Grand Slam champion Sabalenka will be the winner of Saturday's night match on Grandstand between American defending Miami champion Danielle Collins and Swiss qualifier Rebeka Masarova.
Naomi Osaka won 7-6 3-6 6-4 against American wild card Hailey Baptiste while Italian sixth seed Jasmine Paolini advanced when Ons Jabeur, trailing 4-3 in the opening set, had to retire with a left leg injury.
Third seed Coco Gauff also progressed with a 6-2 6-4 win over Greece's Maria Sakkari.
On the men's side, Zverev looked comfortable against British qualifier Fearnley as the German mixed a solid serve with dominance from the baseline while saving the only two break points he faced during the 74-minute match.
For Zverev, who lost at the first hurdle in Indian Wells, the win gave him a German record 145th Masters 1000 win, one more than Tommy Haas. He now faces Australia's Jordan Thompson.
"Happy to kind of have improved a few things from Indian Wells where I didn't feel well on the court. I didn't feel like I played good," Zverev told reporters.
"Hopefully this is just the first of many matches for me here and I can continue playing well."
Hong Kong wild card Coleman Wong stunned 13th seed Ben Shelton 7-6 2-6 7-6 to advance, while Canada's Denis Shapovalov and American third seed Taylor Fritz also won and will meet in the third round.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
