- No 27 seed beats Putintseva in three sets to keep title hopes alive
- Sinner and Alcaraz enjoy straight-sets wins to make quarters
Victoria Azarenka kept her hopes of a fourth Miami Open title alive as she reached the semi-finals with a hard-earned victory over Yulia Putintseva. While in the men’s draw Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz both marched into the quarter-finals.
The No 27 seed Azarenka, who won the tournament in 2009, 2011 and 2016 Miami Open, laboured for just under three hours as she battled past her Kazakhstani opponent 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-3. The 34-year-old saved three set points at 5-4 down in the opening set, then failed to convert two of her own before she held her nerve in the tie-break with some decisive forehands.