Miami Open: Alexandrova stuns Swiatek to book quarter finals ticket

Ekaterina Alexandrova ended Iga Swiatek’s quest for a second sweep of the Sunshine Double, defeating the World No.1 6-4, 6-2 in the Miami Open Round of 16 on Monday night. The victory is Alexandrova’s first career win over a reigning World No.1 and puts her into her third WTA 1000 quarterfinals.

Alexandrova will face No.5 Jessica Pegula on Wednesday. Pegula advanced to her third consecutive Miami quarterfinal by defeating No.20 Emma Navarro 7-6(1), 6-3.

“We played quite a few times before and sometimes it was three sets,” Alexandrova said. “I think sometimes I was quite close to it but still far away. Winning against her, of course it feels great. I’m not sure if it’s a surprise or not, but I just worked quite hard on the court and it paid off.”

Caroline Garcia of France moved into the Miami Open quarterfinals for the first time in her career with a gritty 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 upset of No.3 seed and local hope Coco Gauff on Monday.

Monday marked Garcia’s first win over a Top 10 player since the end of 2022, when she notched four Top 10 wins en route to the title at the 2022 WTA Finals (including a round-robin victory over Gauff). Since that triumph, Garcia had lost her next seven matches against Top 10 players.

Garcia is the first French woman to make the Miami quarterfinals since former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli made the second of her two Miami semifinals back in 2012. No French woman has ever made the Miami Open final.

Garcia will face a player she has never defeated. She will take on another American, former Top 10 player Danielle Collins, for a spot in the semifinals.

Elena Rybakina held firm in blustery conditions to reach her second consecutive Miami Open quarterfinal, defeating No.17 seed Madison Keys 6-3, 7-5 in 1 hour and 24 minutes.

The Kazakhstani will next face No.8 seed Maria Sakkari, who advanced to her second Miami Open quarterfinal via walkover. No.22 seed Anna Kalinskaya was forced to withdraw ahead of their fourth-round match due to a right thigh injury.