Tsitsipas advances to quarterfinals in Miami; Andreescu is injured

Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece greets the fans after beating Cristian Garin of of Chile in the round of 16 of the Miami Open on Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Third-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Chile’s Cristian Garin, who came from the qualifying round, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Monday in the Miami Open. It was the Greek’s first duel of the tournament after skipping the opening rounds.

2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada left the court in a wheelchair after suffering a left leg injury in the second set against Ekaterina Alexandrova (18). They did not immediately report the nature or severity of the 22-year-old’s injury.

Andreescu was down on the scoreboard and after moving on the line he vanished, clutching his lower leg and screaming. A little later he left the field in a wheelchair to a standing ovation from the public.

The Canadian lost the first set 7-6 (7) and was recovering. She won the first two games of the second set before being forced to retire.

Tsitsipas hit 12 aces in his first win since the opening round in Rotterdam in mid-February and brought his record against Garin to 3-0. The Chilean was looking to become the first tennis player from his country to reach the fourth round in Miami since Fernando González in 2010.

After losing the first set, Garín won eight straight points in the second and forced a decisive third. Tsitsipas had a critical break to four in the final set to win.

The Greek, who withdrew from Acapulco with a shoulder injury and lost in the first round at Indian Wells, overcame 21 unforced errors.

“I waited a long time to come out and play,” Tsitsipas told the ATP Tour website. “It almost felt like a vacation last week in Miami. Happy to start.”

Tsitsipas will face Karen Khachanov, who easily beat Jiri Lehecka 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday in the round of 16.

In other matches, Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo stunned fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 7-5. Cerundolo, a semifinalist last year in Miami, had lost three times in the third round at the Masters 1000 to the Canadian this year.

“Very happy to get another Top 10 win, another important win for me,” he said. “I think I played well from start to finish.”

Cerundolo advanced to face Italian Lorenzo Soneog, who beat Frances Tiafoe (12) 6-3, 6-4 in one of the night matches that had to be stopped for almost two hours due to rain.

American Chris Eubanks also had to overcome a two-hour delay to beat Gregoire Barrere of France 6-3, 7-6 (9). With this victory, Eubanks ensured that he would be among the best 100 in the world when the new classification is announced next Monday.

Also on Monday, Quentin Hayls of France eliminated American Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (7), 6-3. Halys will face fourth seed Daniil Medvedev. Adrian Mannarino of France defeated Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 7-6 (7), 7-6 (7) to face Eubanks.

Elsewhere in the women’s tournament, number two Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus defeated Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in straight sets in a duel that began at 10:45 p.m. after a two-hour rain delay. Sabalenka prevailed 6-3, 6-2 and will play Sorana Cirstea in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

American Jessica Pegula (3) dispatched Polish Magda Linette 6-1, 7-5. She will now face Anastasia Potapova (27), who defeated Qinwen Zheng 6-4, 7-6 (7) on Tuesday.

Tenth seed Elena Rybakina, the reigning Wimbledon champion and Indian Wells winner, fired 10 aces and had no trouble beating Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-3. Rybakina will face Italy’s Martina Trevisan of Italy in the quarterfinals. Trevisan defeated Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 6-3.

Also, Petra Kvitova beat Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 7-6 (7); Sorana Cirstea defeated Marketa Vondrousova 7-6 (7), 6-4.

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