In a fun match, with exhibition plays, the Spaniard and main favorite for the title, Carlos Alcaraz, entered the round of 16 of the Miami Masters 1000 by beating the Frenchman Gael Monfils, a day marked by the elimination of the American star Coco Gauff.
Alcaraz’s rival, who won with sets of 6-2 and 6-4, will be the Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who defeated the American Ben Shelton in a hard-fought match by sets of 6-4, 7-6 (7/5 ).
Monfils, 37, was holding up well on the Spanish prodigy’s power play until he slightly injured his ankle in the fifth game.
Although Monfils bravely pressed on, drawing out some magnificent defensive shots from Alcaraz, the world number two was too much for the Parisian.
There was no shortage of smiles, among the occasional wince from Monfils, who enjoyed some entertaining rallies in which Alcaraz was able to show his skill in touch.
When the result seemed a formality, Alcaraz eased off the accelerator and Monfils was able to break for the first time to reduce the deficit to 5-3.
Monfils then held serve with a brilliant crosscourt winner before Alcaraz closed out the match and qualified for the round of 16.
“He’s a great athlete,” Alcaraz said of Monfils. “He reads almost all the balls, so I had to be patient, but at the same time, with my forehand, my best shot, try to move him around the court, tire him out a little and give myself the opportunity to dominate the point, reach the net, hit my best shot.”
Coco leaves Miami
The young American tennis star Coco Gauff, current US Open champion, said goodbye to the Miami Open, WTA 1000 category for women, by losing to Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia in the round of 16.
In a match full of twists and surprises, Garcia, number 1 in her country and 27th in the women’s world ranking, made it to the quarterfinals by winning 6-3, 1-6 and 6-2 in 1 hour and 43 minutes of game.
Garcia, who has made it through three rounds of a tournament for the first time since Beijing in October 2023, will face American Danielle Collins (53rd) for a place in the semifinals.
The Frenchwoman, who had beaten Gauff twice at the 2022 US Open and then at the WTA Masters of the same season, started her match very well, winning the first set in almost 40 minutes 6-3, but then fell and He said goodbye to the tournament.