Auger-Aliassime, Lopez lose in 1st round; Kvitova, Kyrgios advance

Associated PressJun 28, 2022, 6:38 PM EDT

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WIMBLEDON, England — Sixth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime is out of Wimbledon in the first round. He’s the highest men’s seed to be eliminated so far.

The Canadian lost to Maxime Cressy of the United States 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (9), 7-6 (5).

The 21-year-old Auger-Aliassime was a quarterfinalist last year for his best result at the All England Club.

Cressy came into Wimbledon in good form, having been runner-up to Taylor Fritz at the grass-court Eastbourne tournament last weekend.

Feliciano Lopez’s record-equaling Wimbledon appearance ended in the first round.

The unseeded Spaniard lost to Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.

Lopez was playing in his 81st Grand Slam event, equaling Roger Federer’s all-time record for most Grand Slam men’s singles appearances. He had played in 79 in a row as of this year’s Australian Open, another record for men, but failed to qualify for the French Open to end that streak.

At Wimbledon, Lopez was making his 20th appearance, tying Jimmy Connors for second-most by a man, behind only Federer’s 22 in the Open era.

At 40 years, 293 days, Lopez is the oldest man to start the main-draw singles at Wimbledon since Neale Fraser (41 years, 275 days) in 1975.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova advanced to the second round at Wimbledon.

The 25th-seeded Czech, who came into the tournament after winning the grass-court tune-up event at Eastbourne, beat Jasmine Paolini of Italy 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Kvitova won the title at the All England Club in 2011 and 2014. She was then attacked in her home in 2016 and suffered knife injuries to her playing left hand. She later had surgery and needed more than five months to recover.

Nick Kyrgios outlasted British wild-card entry Paul Jubb in five sets to advance to the second round at Wimbledon.

The 27-year-old Australian won 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 7-5 against his 219th-ranked opponent.

Kyrgios, ranked 40th, broke Jubb in the sixth game of the deciding set to go ahead 4-2. He broke again with Jubb serving to try to stay in the match.

The 22-year-old Jubb lost in the first round at Wimbledon in 2019 in his only other Grand Slam appearance.

Alcaraz, Fritz, Andreescu advance to Miami Open 3rd round

Associated PressMar 25, 2023, 1:12 AM EDT

Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Carlos Alcaraz picked up a straight-set win at the Miami Open on Friday to keep his world No. 1 ranking over idle Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic is not participating in the Miami Open because he still cannot travel to the United States as a foreign citizen who is not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Alcaraz, who beat Casper Ruud in the 2022 U.S. Open final for his first No. 1 ranking, defeated Facundo Bagnis 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the third round in Miami.

Rafael Nadal dropped out of the top 10 on Monday for the first time in 18 years. Alcaraz, a 19-year-old from Spain, rose into that spot a day after ending Daniil Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak by beating him in straight sets in the final at Indian Wells, California.

Ruud, who’s ranked No. 4, won his match against Ilya Ivashka 6-2, 6-3. He’ll face No. 26 Botic van de Zandschulp on Sunday in the third round.

No. 1 American and No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz began his tournament campaign with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Emilio Nava. Fritz is 17-1 in his opening rounds of hard court tournaments since the start of 2022, with his only loss coming at the 2022 U.S. Open to No. 303 Brandon Holt.

Fritz will next face No. 24 Denis Shapovalov, who defeated Guido Pella on Friday.

On the women’s side, Bianca Andreescu – the 2019 U.S. Open champion – came from a set down to oust No. 7 seed Maria Sakkari 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Andreescu improved to 2-1 over Sakkari, with both wins coming in Miami.

Andreescu will face Sofia Kenin in the third round.

No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka beat Shelby Rogers 6-4, 6-3 and extended her record to 4-0 versus Rogers. Sabalenka will face No. 31 Marie Bouzková in the third round.

No. 5 Caroline Garcia lost to Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-3. Cirstea beat Garcia 10 days ago in the fourth round at Indian Wells, and will face Karolína Muchová next.

In other action, Varvara Gracheva defeated No. 4 Ons Jabeur 6-2, 6-2; and Jannik Sinner beat Laslo Đere 6-4, 6-2.

Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula reach Miami Open 3rd round

Associated PressMar 23, 2023, 11:52 PM EDT

Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Sixth-seeded Coco Gauff opened her 2023 Miami Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Rebecca Marino and advanced to the third round where she will face 27th-seeded Anastasia Potapova.

After her victory, Gauff, coming off a quarterfinals appearance at Indian Wells, said in a television interview that it wasn’t her best outing, despite converting five of her nine break points.

“It was a shaky performances honestly,” Gauff said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be a straight forward match, even if I was up a break sometimes.”

Gauff came back from a break down twice in the second set to claim her second career win versus Marino. Gauff defeated Marino in the first round at Roland Garros in 2022.

Gauff said she was a bit nervous playing in her hometown – she’s a native of Delray Beach, Florida, a small city about 40 miles north of Hard Rock Stadium, where the tournament is played. Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat was among those in attendance Thursday.

“Jimmy Butler is here so I was a little bit nervous when I saw him,” Gauff said with a laugh in her post-match interview. “Playing home is something I look forward to, but it’s also a little bit of extra pressure because everyone wants you to do well here.”

Gauff’s doubles teammate, world No. 3 Jessica Pegula beat Katherine Sebov 6-3, 6-1 and advanced to the third round. She will face fellow American and No. 30 Danielle Collins next. Collins defeated Viktoriya Tomova on Thursday.

Pegula made the Miami Open semifinals in 2022 and is among the favorites to win the tournament this year after No. 1-ranked and defending champion Iga Swiatek pulled out of the tournament because of a rib injury.

No. 21 Paula Badosa won 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2 against Laura Siegemund in a match that lasted two hours and 51 minutes. Badosa will face either Elena Rybakina, who defeated Badosa en route to the Indian Wells title, or Anna Kalinskaya.

Badosa hit with a ball kid during the match to stay warm after Siegemund called for a medical timeout and left the court for treatment, which took nearly 15 minutes.

In other action, Elise Mertens eliminated No. 8 seed Daria Kasatkina 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to advance and face No. 29 Petra Martic next; No. 23 Qinwen Zheng picked up a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over Irina-Camelia Begu; and No. 13 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia defeated Tereza Martincová 7-6 (4), 0-6, 6-0.