De Minaur ends Fonseca challenge, Zverev marches on in Miami

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — Australia's Alex de Minaur put an end to Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca's challenge at the Miami Open, outlasting the 18-year-old 5-7, 7-5,6-3 in an enthralling contest.

Attendance on stadium court had been sparse throughout Monday, but the Hard Rock Stadium turned into a mini-Maracana Stadium for Fonseca's match, complete with Brazilian flags and soccer-style chanting.

Fonseca brought his energetic brand of ultra-attacking tennis, but De Minaur was up to the challenge, coping with both the blistering forehands and the partisan crowd.

Such was the dominance of Fonseca's raucous support that the umpire switched to speaking Portuguese in his appeals for quiet.

De Minaur, though, won six of the final seven games to move into the fourth round, keeping his cool, even when the crowd attempted to disrupt his serve preparation.

"Mentally, I was ready for this match, I knew I was not only going to play an incredible talent like Joao, playing with immense confidence and nothing to lose, but also an incredible crowd that was on his side from the first point until the last," De Minaur said. "One of my biggest strengths is my mentality, and that is what got me the win today," he added.

Top seed Alexander Zverev recovered from a slow start to power into the fourth round of the Miami Open with a 7-5, 6-4 win against Australia's Jordan Thompson.

The German was 4-1 down in the first set, but then went on a roll, winning eight of the next nine games to progress.

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.

Third seed Taylor Fritz of the United States also moved into the fourth round, beating Denis Shapovalov of Canada 7-5, 6-3.

In the women's draw, Fritz's third-seeded compatriot Coco Gauff's bid ended with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Poland's Magda Linette.

Zheng advances

Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka eased her way into the last eight with a 6-4, 6-4 win over last year's winner, American Danielle Collins.

Next, the Belarusian will be up against ninth-seeded Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen of China, who reached her second consecutive WTA 1000 quarterfinal, with a straight-sets win over American Ashlyn Krueger.

Zheng hit five aces and won 81 percent of her first-serve points, as she took the match in an hour and 29 minutes. Krueger struggled for rhythm on serve, committing four double faults, while winning only 27 percent of total points on return.

Zheng is aiming for her sixth career title.

Italy's Jasmine Paolini enjoyed a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 comeback win over Japan's Naomi Osaka in 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Since her comeback from maternity leave 15 months ago, Osaka has been showing signs of getting back to 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.

Britain's Emma Raducanu continued her impressive form in Miami, cruising to a 6-1, 6-3 win in 69 minutes over American Amanda Anisimova, who had eliminated Russian Indian Wells winner Mirra Andreeva on Sunday.

It is the first time Raducanu has won four straight WTA Tour main draw matches in a row since her US Open triumph in 2021.

Agencies