Miami Open: Rybakina saves match pt to extend win streak; Mertens wins

World No.7 Elena Rybakina rallied from a set down to defeat former No.2 Paula Badosa 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the third round of the WTA section of the Miami Open.
The victory extended Rybakina’s current win streak to 10 matches and kept the Indian Wells champion’s hopes alive of sweeping a double in Florida. Rybakina will face Elise Mertens in the Round of 16 on Monday. Mertens booked a spot in her first fourth round at a WTA 1000 this season by defeating 29th seed Petra Martic 6-4, 6-3.
Coming off her triumph in the California desert a week ago, Rybakina has had to go the distance in her first two matches in Miami. In her opening match, Rybakina defeated Anna Kalinskaya 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. In another match on Saturday, Elise Mertens of Belgium defeated Petra Martic 6-4, 6-3 of Croatia.
Hurkacz down Kokinakis
Former champion Hubert Hurkacz of Poland saved five match points en route to a memorable 6-7(10), 7-6(7), 7-6(6) victory against Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia in a three-hour, 31 minutes marathon in the Miami Open on Saturday evening.
The 26-year-old World No 9, who defeated Jannik Sinner in the final to win the 2021 Miami Open title, won his Round of 32 match, which has turned out to be the longest three-set match of 2023.
Meanwhile, Felix Auger-Aliassime needed every ounce of his Top 10 experience to overcome the spirited Thiago Monteiro in another Round of 32 match. The Canadian prevailed 7-6(5), 7-6(8) to down the Brazilian World No. 81 in a match that featured no breaks of serve.
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev breezed past Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1, 6-2; second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece advanced as he got a walkover from Richard Gasquet of France; Frances Tiafoe of the US overcame Yosuke Watanuki of Japan 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-4 while 14th seed Karen Khachanov defeated Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
In other matches, Quentin Halys of France stunned 15th seed Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 7-6(8), American qualifier Christopher Eubanks upset 17th seed Borna Coric of Croatia 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 and another qualifier Cristian Garin of Chile defeated Sebastian Baez of Argentina 7-6(2), 6-3.