Tennis - Playmate

Carlos Alcaraz continued his ‘Sunshine Double’ quest in style Sunday, overcoming Dusan Lajovic 6-0, 7-6(5) to reach the fourth round at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Arriving off his title run in Indian Wells, the World No. 1 has quickly adapted to the faster conditions in Miami, where he is the defending champion. In a high-quality performance, the top seed overpowered Lajovic with his relentless aggression on return and he demonstrated incredible agility to cover the court and repel attacks from the Serbian. The Spaniard, who hit 27 winners to Lajovics eight, recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-4 against Lajovic, recomposing himself to seal his eighth consecutive straight-sets win on his fourth match point in one hour and 31 minutes. The 19-year-old needs to lift his fourth ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Miami to prevent Novak Djokovic from replacing him ...

>Read More

Dusan Lajovic has spent time in two special places this year: Middle Earth and Planet Alcaraz. On Sunday, the Serbian will try to invoke the spirit of the former to conquer the latter when he faces World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the third round of the Miami Open presented by Itau. Lord of the Rings fan Lajovic has lost all three of his previous ATP Head2Head meetings with Alcaraz, but he is excited to give it another shot against the defending champion inside Hard Rock Stadium. “I think the unique thing is how much he loves the pressure points. He’s got a great forehand, great backhand, great drop shot. He feels the game really good. He’s got really good instincts,” Lajovic told ATPTour.com. “But this is what I feel like is separating him from the rest of the other guys that are up and coming. “I can’t compare him to Novak, Rafa and Ro...

>Read More

Holger Rune has had no trouble settling in to his main-draw debut at the Miami Open presented by Itau. The seventh-seeded Dane notched his second consecutive straight-sets victory on Sunday by seeing off Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-2 to book his spot in the fourth round at the ATP Masters 1000 event. Up against the resilient Schwartzman for the first time, Rune converted all four break points he earned to seal a 92-minute victory and quieten the vociferous Argentine support on Court Butch Buchholz. It was very important [to get in front early], said Rune after the match. Diego is very strong� My focus was really to be strong every time I played to put him under pressure, and I did that very well. Im super happy at how composed I stayed today. Rune around ??????? @MiamiOpen debutant @holgerrune2003 delights the Danish fans with a 6-4, 6-2 masterclass #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.co...

>Read More

Four sets played, four sets won for Andrey Rublev at this years Miami Open presented by Itau. On Sunday, the sixth seed backed up his opening-round victory against J.J. Wolf by dispatching Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 6-2 to reach the fourth round at the hard-court ATP Masters 1000 event. [ATP APP] In a dominant display, Rublev timed his forehand cleanly throughout the 58-minute clash, striking the ball through 2022 quarter-finalist Kecmanovic on the fast courts to improve to 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series. Rublevs fourth-round opponent will be Jannik Sinner or Grigor Dimitrov. Rublev is a 12-time tour-level titlist, a tally which includes five ATP 500 crowns, but is chasing his first Masters 1000 title in Florida. The 25-year-old arrives in Miami off the back of a fourth-round exit in Indian Wells. His best result at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami came in 2021, when he r...

>Read More

Taylor Fritz reached the fourth round at the Miami Open presented by Itau for the third consecutive year Sunday, earning a 6-4, 6-4 win against Denis Shapovalov. In the latest chapter of their rivalry, the American was locked in from ball one inside Hard Rock Stadium, outlasting Shapovalov in the heavy-hitting baseline exchanges. Fritz committed just eight unforced errors to the Canadian’s 17, and was strong on serve, not facing a break point during the 81-minute clash. I couldnt really find that attacking formula because he was hitting the ball so hard and he was hitting his second serve so big, Fritz said. It turned more into making balls and being steady. Because when he was putting balls in the court, I couldnt attack much off that. [ATP APP] With his victory, Fritz improved to 4-5 in his ATP Head2Head series against Shapovalov, having also triumphed in Acapulco earlier th...

>Read More

Frances Tiafoe withstood a ferocious returning assault from Japans Yosuke Watanuki to sneak into the third round of the Miami Open presented by Itau in the early hours of Sunday morning. Tiafoe needed six match points to see off the swashbuckling 24-year-old World No. 123, who crushed 55 winners (including 28 off the forehand side) and kept the American on his toes by taking huge cuts on returns. It was brutal tonight, just one of those nights you try to get over the line, Tiafoe said. I was a little frustrated as I had never seen him play and he played very well and was hitting incredibly from the baseline. “He was playing lights out and I was on the back foot a lot. He played a helluva match tonight, so give respect where respect is due. He was so red hot but I was hoping his level might drop in glimpses and I did a good job of taking advantage when it did.” [ATP APP]...

>Read More

Talented Canadian Denis Shapovalov has made a slow start to his 2023 season. The lefty owns a 6-6 record entering his third-round match at the Miami Open presented by Itau and has not won consecutive matches since the Australian Open. But as the 23-year-old has battled adversity, he has kept the big picture in mind. “I think at the end of the day, first of all if things are not going well, you can have it way worse. I’m fortunate enough to be in the position that I am and trying to be the best possible,” Shapovalov told ATPTour.com. “But it’s just a sport. It’s just a game. Obviously I want to be better and sometimes I’m frustrated on the court. But I think I do a good job of just not carrying it over because we’re very lucky. I’m living a good life. “I think in general being a person, it’s different. You’re an ...

>Read More

Product Listings for Tennis - Playmate