Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Monday March 25, 2024 at 11:55 p.m.
Alexander Zverev and Karen Khachanov enforced logic by qualifying for the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 in Miami, not without difficulty. Alex De Minaur and Hubert Hurkacz also qualified.
Between 2016 and 2021, Alexander Zverev and Karen Khachanov faced each other five times. But since the final of the Tokyo Olympic Games on August 1, 2021, won by the German, the two players have no longer had the opportunity to cross paths on the ATP circuit. This will be done on Wednesday, since they will face each other in the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 in Miami. World number 5 and eliminated by Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals at Indian Wells, the German player, who defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime for his entry into the running, continued his journey in Florida, with a 7-6, 6-3 victory in 1h40 against Christopher Eubanks, 32nd in the world. Zverev particularly shone on serve, with eight aces on the clock, no double faults, 78% of first serves and only one break conceded. The American led 5-3 in the first set, before losing his temper when serving for the set. The two men finally decided in the tie-break, and Zverev won the last three points to win 7-4. In the second set, the Olympic champion broke from the start and led 3-0 then 4-1. At 5-3, when serving to win the match, he had to save three break points, but won on his first match point.
Khachanov broke away
Karen Khachanov, for his part, had to battle for three sets and 2h38 of play to eliminate Francisco Cerundolo (21st) with a score of 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 in a remake of the quarter-final of the year passed, already won by the Russian. The world No. 16 easily won the first set thanks to three breaks. But the Argentinian held up much better in the second. The games went by on both sides, and at 5-5, Cerundolo made the break at the best moment to equalize at one set all. In the third, the Russian got two match points on the Argentinian’s serve, who saved them. It was therefore necessary to play a tie-break, during which Khachanov led 5-1 then 6-3, before winning 7-5, and offering a repeat of the Olympic final! World No. 10 Alex De Minaur will also see the round of 16, after his 7-6, 6-4 success in 1h50 over Jan-Lennard Struff. The Australian served 7 aces and was not broken during this meeting. The first round ended in a tie-brak, won 7-3 by De Minaur after winning the last four points, then a break at 2-2 in the second allowed him to win the match. Next opponent: Fabian Marozsan, who defeated Alexei Popyrin with a score of 7-5, 6-3 in 1h32. For world No. 9 Hubert Hurkacz, it was more complicated, but the winner of the 2021 edition ended up winning 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 in 2h17 against Sebastian Korda (29th), serving 15 aces and never being broken. The Pole won the first set 7-5 in the tie-break, then lost the second by the same score. He ended up getting the better of the American in the third set by breaking him at 2-1, then saving a break point in the process, before concluding at 5-3 with a shutout. He will face Grigor Dimitrov or Yannick Hanfmann in the next round.
2024-03-25 22:55:00
#Miami #Zverev #Khachanov #meet #Hurkacz #Minaur #pass
