MỹTop seed Carlos Alcaraz defeated Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-4 to continue his hopes of winning a Masters 1000 double in the US.
The match ended after 75 minutes, when Alcaraz successfully took advantage of four break-points. Monfils may have lost faster in the second set, but still had more chances by winning the only ball-retaining game in the match. However, the French player then did not score any points in the junior's final service game.
Alcaraz (right) hugs Monfils at the net after the Miami Open third round match. Image: Reuters
The 17-year age gap with opponents is a barrier for Monfils. The veteran batsman repeatedly failed to keep up with the fast balls. He also struggled every time he dealt with Alcaraz's small shot.
Alcaraz enters the fourth round against Lorenzo Musetti, who beat Ben Shelton 6-4, 7-5. He faces the opportunity to win the "Sunshine Double" in America, something only seven other people have ever done. Last year Alcaraz won the BNP Paribas Open but lost in the semifinals of the Miami Open.
“Winning Indian Wells and Miami is a big dream that I haven't thought about yet,” Alcaraz said. “Right now I'm just focusing on the match at hand. Today was an interesting match against Monfils. He has always been an energetic and generous tennis player."
Also moving on to the fourth round are Grigor Dimitrov and Hubert Hurkacz. While Dimitrov only lost one game to Yannick Hanfmann, Hurkacz had to play three persistent sets with Sebastian Korda. Another pair in the fourth round also attracted attention when Alexander Zverev faced Karen Khachanov.
Alex de Minaur continued to impress, winning his 19th match since the beginning of the season, becoming the player with the most wins so far on the ATP Tour 2024. The Australian talent overcame Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6, 6-4 and will compete. Fabian Marozsan phenomenon in round four. Marozsan just shocked him by defeating Holger Rune and Alexei Popyrin in the last two rounds.
Vy Anh
