Jabeur retires from Sydney quarters with injury; Murray reaches semis

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SYDNEY — Ons Jabeur retired with a lower back injury in the Sydney Classic quarterfinals, allowing Anett Kontaveit to advance.

The fourth-seeded Kontaveit advanced after the seventh-seeded Tunisian lost the opening set 6-4 and decided to stop soon after.

Jabeur received a medical timeout after the set and then attempted to start the second set. But after serving a let and a first-serve fault, she walked to the net for a match-ending hug. She is seeded ninth for the Australian Open, which starts next week.

Jabeur reached the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park in 2020.

“I really hope that Ons is going to be fine for next week and that it’s nothing too serious,” Kontaveit said. “The first set was really competitive and we’ve had some tough matches before, but she’s always come on top. I was really happy to get the set and that I was playing the way I was playing.”

Attempting to reach a fourth straight final, Kontaveit will next face third-seeded Barbora Krejcikova, who beat Caroline Garcia 6-0, 6-2.

Krejcikova has lost only eight games through two matches.

Second-seeded Garbine Muguruza was upset by Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. The Russian will next face fifth-seeded Paula Badosa, who defeated Belinda Bencic 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-3.

In the men’s tournament in Sydney, former No. 1 Andy Murray advanced to the semifinals when eighth-seeded David Goffin retired at the start of the second set. Murray took the first set 6-2.

Murray will next face Reilly Opelka. The fourth-seeded American beat Brandon Nakashima 7-6 (4), 6-2.

Top-seeded Aslan Karatsev also advanced to the last four by beating Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. The Russian, who last year reached the Australian Open semifinals as a qualifier, will next play third-seeded Dan Evans, who beat Maxime Cressy 6-4, 7-6 (5).

At the Adelaide International, former U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic beat Tommy Paul 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 and reached the semifinals for the second straight week.

In a match of strong servers, Cilic served 14 aces to Paul’s eight and won 84% of his first-serve points.

The Croat will next face Thanasi Kokkinakis after the Adelaide native beat Aleksander Vukic 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2.

Third-seeded Karen Khachanov, runner-up at the first Adelaide International last week, lost to 58th-ranked qualifier Arthur Rinderknech of France 7-6 (7), 7-5.

Rinderknech’s semifinal match will be against Corentin Moutet, who beat Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 6-4.

In the women’s draw, third-seeded Coco Gauff beat Ana Konjuh 6-3, 6-4. She will next face Madison Keys, who defeated eighth-seeded Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Fourth-seeded Tamara Zidansek beat Lauren Davis 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) to set up to a semifinal match against Alison Riske, who advanced when Madison Brengle retired at 3-3 in the first set of their match.

Elena Rybakina hits 10 aces in Miami for 12th straight win

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina extended her winning streak to 12 matches by delivering 10 aces – her fourth consecutive outing with at least that many – in a 6-3, 6-0 victory over 25th-seeded Martina Trevisan in the Miami Open quarterfinals.

Rybakina has 46 aces through four matches at the hard-court tournament in Florida and a WTA-leading 201 this season.

The 23-year-old, who represents Kazakhstan, improved to 20-4 in 2023, including a run to the Australian Open final in January and a title at Indian Wells, California, last week.

She is trying to become only the fifth player to win the women’s trophies at Indian Wells and Miami in the same season. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek did it a year ago; she withdrew from Miami this time because of a rib injury.

“Of course it would be amazing to achieve something like that,” the 10th-seeded Rybakina said about the prospect of completing what’s known as the Sunshine Double, “but it’s still far away.”

So far in Rybakina’s career, 13 of her 18 semifinal appearances have come on hard courts. She will face No. 3 Jessica Pegula for a berth in the final after the American fought off two match points and outlasted No. 27 Anastasia Potapova 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) in a match that ended just before 1:30 a.m. after play had been delayed by rain.

“I haven’t been that physically tired in just a really long time,” Pegula said. “Just the humidity was taking so much out of me, and I haven’t been able to play in humidity like that in a while. It was just really tough, so really, it was just pure will.”

Trevisan reached the French Open semifinals in 2022.

In fourth-round men’s action Tuesday, No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was beaten 7-6 (4), 6-4 by No. 14 Karen Khachanov, while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner all beat seeded opponents in straight sets.

Alcaraz, who returned to No. 1 in the ATP rankings last week, got past Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-4 to set up a meeting against Fritz, the top-ranked American man and seeded ninth in Miami.

Fritz compiled twice as many winners, 22, as unforced errors, 11, and only dropped serve once during a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 7 Holger Rune. That put Fritz into his first quarterfinal in seven appearances in Miami – and his first matchup against Alcaraz, a 19-year-old from Spain who won the U.S. Open in September for his first Grand Slam title.

“I’m really excited for it,” Fritz said. “I think that a lot of people are really excited for that, too.”

No. 10 Sinner eliminated No. 6 Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4 and has yet to drop a set in the tournament.

Sinner’s next opponent will be unseeded Emil Ruusuvuori, a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 winner against No. 26 Botic van de Zandschulp.

No. 4 Daniil Medvedev, forced to start late and off his scheduled court after the rain, beat Quentin Halys 6-4, 6-2. He will face American Christopher Eubanks, who edged Adrian Mannarino in a pair of tiebreakers.

Khachanov will play Francisco Cerundolo, a semifinalist in Miami last year, in the other men’s quarterfinal.

Fritz, Sinner reach Miami Open quarterfinals with 2-set wins

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner beat seeded opponents in straight sets at the Miami Open to move into the quarterfinals.

No. 9 Fritz compiled twice as many winners, 22, as unforced errors, 11, and only dropped serve once during a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 7 Holger Rune.

That put Fritz, the highest-ranked American man, into his first quarterfinal in seven appearances at the hard-court tournament.

He will face either No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz or Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Paul next. Alcaraz is the defending champion in Miami.

No. 10 Sinner eliminated No. 6 Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4 and has yet to drop a set in the tournament.

Sinner’s next opponent will be No. 26 Botic van de Zandschulp or unseeded Emil Ruusuvuori.