Sabalenka and Gauff advance to Miami Open quarter-finals
World No. 1 Sabalenka defeated Zheng Qinwen 6-3 6-4, while fourth seed Gauff beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3 4-6 6-2 on Monday.
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World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals of the Miami Open on Monday, defeating China's Zheng Qinwen 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 25 minutes. The 27-year-old reigning champion will face American Hailey Baptiste in the last eight.
Baptiste secured her spot after defeating Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 6-4 on Sunday. Sabalenka has won seven of her eight career meetings with Olympic champion Zheng.
Fourth seed Coco Gauff also reached the quarter-finals with a 6-3 4-6 6-2 victory over Romania's Sorana Cirstea. The 22-year-old American served six double faults and was broken five times during the match but advanced to face either Amanda Anisimova or Belinda Bencic. The Miami tournament is Gauff's home event. She entered the competition following a retirement at Indian Wells earlier in the month due to a nerve problem.
Sabalenka's only defeat in 2026 came to Elena Rybakina during the Australian Open final. Since then, she has won nine consecutive matches, including her triumph at Indian Wells. Speaking after her victory, Sabalenka told Sky Sports she felt "a good six or seven, a good seven out of 10" in terms of her form. "It was a quick transition because of the weather I didn't have as much time to prepare as good as I could but happy that through all the matches I've played here I feel better and better," she said. "Rhythm is back, serve is back, I definitely feel much better."
Third seed Elena Rybakina cruised into the last 16 with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk. The Kazakhstan player will face Australian qualifier Talia Gibson, who knocked out 18th seed Iva Jovic 6-2 6-2. Gibson, who reached the Indian Wells quarter-finals, also beat former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka in the second round in Miami.
Fifth-seeded American Jessica Pegula, runner-up to Sabalenka last year, defeated Canada's Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-2 in one hour and six minutes. Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko fought back to claim a 5-7 6-2 7-5 win over seventh seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy and will next play Hailey Baptiste.
Zheng Qinwen beat American 15th seed Madison Keys to claim her first win over a top-20 player since undergoing elbow surgery in July.