Florida, Mar 24 (IANS): Carlos Alcaraz spoiled fellow Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena’s 31st birthday celebrations with a 6-2, 6-1 victory.
Alcaraz is on a seven-match winning streak, and he has not been beaten by a Spaniard in the last 11 matches – the last one to do so was Rafael Nadal in the 2022 Indian Wells semifinal.
The 20-year-old next faces the winner of resurgent French veteran Gael Monfils, who dispatched in-form Australian Jordan Thompson 6-7 (3-7), 6-1, 6-2.
The Spaniard is confident in Miami, where he claimed his first Masters 1000 crown. Alcaraz is now 11-2 at the tournament.
Earlier, World No. 3 Italian Jannik Sinner was made to wait overnight for the chance to seal an opening win at the Miami Open. The second seed ensured it was worth the wait on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium, where he breezed past countryman Andrea Vavassori 6-3, 6-4.
Arriving in Miami after Alcaraz snapped his 16-win start to the 2024 season in the Indian Wells semi-finals, Sinner completed an 80-minute victory against his countryman to reach the third round.
The match had been suspended on Friday with Vavassori serving at 2-3, 40/40, and Sinner made his move immediately upon resumption by breaking for a 4-2 lead.
Up next for the Italian is Netherlands' Talon Griekspoor, an opponent he defeated in all three previous encounters.
Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev started strong in his title defence, beating Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics on Grandstand 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour and 19 minutes.
The match had been scheduled as the feature night match on Stadium court on Friday but was cancelled due to rain. But the switch to afternoon conditions and Grandstand court proved no barrier to the World No. 4, had won 81% of his first serve points and was able to save the only two break points he face.
Medvedev is attempting to successfully defend a title for the first time in his career. The 28-year-old has won 20 different titles, including 18 on hard court.
He next faces No. 30 seed Cameron Norrie, who defeated 21-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-2.
The No. 10 seed Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas was halted by Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 2-6, 4-6. It is the first time the Greek leaves Miami before the fourth round – his best appearance was in 2021 when he reached the quarterfinals.
Other men's seeds to advance were No. 4 Alexander Zverev, who defeated Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 6-4; Polish Hubert Hurkacz, the No. 8 seed and 2021 Miami Open champion, who overcame Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3; and Norwegian Casper Ruud, the No. 7 seed, halting France’s Luca van Assche 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-1.