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Friday March 29, 2024

Del Potro, Raonic advance; Cilic ousted

By AFP
March 29, 2018

MIAMI: Juan Martin del Potro sent his devoted fans home happy Tuesday by powering into the ATP Miami Open quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Serbian Filip Krajinovic.

Roared on by a partisan crowd, the 29-year-old Argentinian recovered from 1-4 down in the first set to reel off nine games in a row on his way to a last-eight match with Canada’s Milos Raonic on Wednesday.

Del Potro’s welcome return to form and fitness saw him win the Indian Wells title and continue to impress at the last tournament in Key Biscayne before a move north to the NFL Miami Dolphins’ home stadium next year.

Windy conditions hampered players all day and the former US Open champion took time to find his groove in his first meeting with 27th-ranked Krajinovic.Raonic, who easily saw off Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3 6-4, lost to del Potro in the Indian Wells semi-finals and will be eagerly seeking revenge.

Del Potro is the top seed remaining after second seed Marin Cilic was beaten 7-6 (7/0), 6-3 by American John Isner.The Croatian’s run was halted by big-serving Isner in just 87 minutes to set up a last-eight meeting with South Korean 19th seed Chung Hyeon.

It was a fine performance by Isner, the 14th seed, who rattled down 12 aces and was boosted by winning 85 percent of points on his first serve.All three of Isner’s wins over the 2014 US Open champion have now come in ATP Masters events and once a first set tie-break was negotiated in windswept conditions, the 32 year-old confidently held his nerve to send Cilic home.

Isner has never won an ATP Masters event but this display has fueled hopes this could be his time.In the late match, impressive Alexander Zverev, the fourth seed, powered past an out-of-sorts Nick Kyrgios 6-4, 6-4 to set up a meeting with Croatian Borna Coric in the last eight.

Australian firebrand Kyrgios has been struggling with an elbow injury and Zverev’s power and precision was simply too hot to handle as the German reached the quarter-finals for the second year in succession.

It was a disappointing end for Kyrgios, who brought the crowd to their feet with his energetic, wild strokeplay yet couldn’t maintain his level consistently enough to deal with Zverev’s all-round game.

Coric, who reached his first ATP Masters semi-final in Indian Wells earlier this month, has never got this far in Miami but showed his qualities once again with a battling 7-6 (7/2), 4-6, 6-4 triumph.

South Africa’s Kevin Anderson saw off American youngster Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 and will play Spain’s Pablo Carreno-Busta who dispatched fellow countryman Fernando Verdasco 6-0, 6-3.

In the women’s tournament, American Sloane Stephens had cause for a double celebration after beating Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-2 to set up a semi-final clash with former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka.The US 13th seed’s comprehensive triumph in tricky wind conditions over the former world number one ensured Stephens reached the last four at Key Biscayne for the first time.

It also means the reigning US Open champion will finally be named in the world’s top 10 when the WTA release their rankings next week.She will meet two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka for a place in Saturday’s final after the Belarusian beat fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 6-3.

Azarenka, meanwhile, is enjoying her best tournament run since the birth of her first child last December and faces Stephens just three weeks after the pair met in Indian Wells, a match won by the American 6-1, 7-5.

In an error strewn clash with world No 6 Pliskova, Azarenka, who was given a wildcard into the tournament thanks to a ranking of 186, was broken when serving for the first set only to break back straight away and take control.

The pattern continued at the start of the second, yet the 28-year-old held her nerve to reach the last four of a tournament she won in 2009, 2011 and 2016 and complete a return to the top 100 when the WTA rankings are updated this Monday.

Stephens’ previous best here came with a quarter-final run in 2015, so the emotions on display at the end of what was an ultimately straightforward win over the world No 10 were understandable.