World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarterfinals of the Miami Open after beating Zheng Qinwen in straight sets on Monday.
Sabalenka beat her Chinese opponent 6-3 6-4 to face Hailey Baptiste, who knocked out Jeļena Ostapenko on Sunday.
The world number one’s only loss so far in 2026 came to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final, while Sabalenka has won nine straight, including a win at Indian Wells.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Sabalenka said, “I’m currently feeling 6-7, 7 (out of 10) is good.”
“It was a quick transition as we didn’t have much time to prepare because of the weather, but I’m glad I’m feeling better and better with every game I’ve played here.”
“The rhythm is back, the serve is back. It definitely feels a lot better. She’s a fighter. I knew she was going to bring it all down to the last point.”
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Highlights from Mira Andreva against Victoria Mboko at the Miami Open
Jessica Pegula beat Jaqueline Cristian 6-4 6-1 and will now face either Rybakina or Talia Gibson.
Meanwhile, Coco Gauff reached her first Miami Open quarter-final with a 6-3 4-6 6-2 win over Sorana Cirstea, setting up a meeting with the winner of Belinda Bencic and Amanda Anisimova.
“I don’t think it needs to happen any other way than to put in a little more work,” Gauff said after the game. “I think I’ve played here before. I think I had a tough game. Maybe I wasn’t there mentally. Today I wanted to be there mentally.”
Earlier, Canadian rising star Victoria Mboko continued her upward trend with a 7-6(4) 4-6 6-0 win over Mirra Andreeva to advance to the quarterfinals.
She will now face Karolina Muchova for a place in the semi-finals after the Czech beat Alexandra Eala 6-0, 6-2.
Medvedev lost to Cerundolo.
Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo advanced to the fourth round of the men’s competition after beating 10th-ranked Daniil Medvedev 6-0 4-6 7-5.
The 27-year-old will next face Hugo Humbert, whom he defeated at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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Francisco Cerundolo’s highlights against Daniil Medvedev at the Miami Open
Medvedev, who recently ended Carlos Alcaraz’s 16-game winning streak in Indian Wells, fell to 19-5 on the season.
Cerundolo dominated the opening set before Medvedev rallied to force a decider. In the third, Medvedev blocked four break points at 3-4, but Cerundolo caught a break in the second half and finished the game with a powerful forehand play in 2 hours and 17 minutes.
Meanwhile, Frances Tiafoe saved two match points in the third set tiebreak to beat defending champion Jakub Mensik 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(11).
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