Miami Open: Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev enter semis, Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina reaches final
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The 26-year-old Eubanks was playing in his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final after upsetting Frenchmen Adrian Mannarino and Gregoire Barrere and Croatia's 17th-ranked Borna Coric. The 6-foot-7 (2.01m), big-serving Eubanks showed no signs of nerves, holding his first two serves, but he was unable to take advantage of five break-points in a thrilling fourth game.
A half hour rain-break appeared to disrupt Eubanks' momentum, however, and he was broken on his first service game after the resumption of play, going long and allowing Medvedev to take a 4-3 lead. The Russian, who after the break noticeably stepped further into the second serve, broke again to take the first set, but Eubanks was not about to roll over against the world number five.
In the sixth game of the second set, Medvedev won a great rally at the net to go 4-2 up but Eubanks again showed his character to break back and keep his hopes alive.
Elena Rybakina cruises into Miami Open final
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina reached the final of the Miami Open by beating American world number three Jessica Pegula 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 at Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday. Kazakhstans Rybakina is on course to claim the 'Sunshine Double' after winning in Indian Wells earlier this month.
The 23-year-old, ranked seventh in the world, will face the winner of Friday's semi-final between Petra Kvitova and Romanian Sorana Cirstea.
In a rain-disrupted match, neither player was able to settle into their serve with 11 breaks in total throughout the two sets. Pegula had been 4-2 up in the second set but after she was broken again, the contest turned decisively in Rybakina's direction when the American, on her serve, found the net on a return to go 5-4 down to the Moscow-born Rybakina.
Rybakina then held her serve with ease to secure back-to-back WTA 1000 finals and she said the unwelcome prospect of a third set had pushed her to take a more positive approach.
"I think that I started being a bit more aggressive because I knew that if it's going to go to the third set, it's going to be much more difficult, so I maybe risked a bit more in the end of the second set," she said, noting how tough it has been to go all the way in back-to-back tournaments.
"It's really difficult because of different conditions and these two weeks by the matches, you will see that it's been much more difficult for me here than in Indian Wells, but for the sunshine double, I am going to give it my best and hopefully I can make it," she added.
Friday, March 31, 2023 at 5:43 am