Zverev Secures Spot to the 4th Round And Paolini Stuns Osaka

Zverev Secures Spot to the 4th Round and Paolini Stuns Osaka

(The Post News)– Top seed Alexander Zverev overcame a shaky start to book his spot in the fourth round of the Miami Open with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Jordan Thompson on Monday.

Zverev Eyes Miami Title Opportunity

The German found himself trailing 4-1 in the opening set but quickly turned things around, winning eight of the next nine games to be dominant in the match. Having suffered an early exit at Indian Wells, Zverev now has a prime opportunity in Miami, especially with Carlos Alcaraz already out of the tournament. With seven Masters 1000 titles to his name, he’ll be looking to add another to his collection.

Zverev acknowledged that Thompson put up a strong challenge, making the match difficult for him. However, once he found his rhythm, he was satisfied with how he played from that point onwards.

On the women’s side, Italy’s Jasmine Paolini pulled off a stunning comeback, defeating Naomi Osaka 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a two-hour, 15-minute battle. Paolini now advances to the quarterfinals, where she will face either Coco Gauff or Magda Linette, who were set to clash later on Monday.

Since her return from maternity leave 15 months ago, Osaka has been steadily working her way back to form. However, Paolini was the first top-10 player she faced this year, making it a challenging test.

Osaka admitted she hasn’t played many matches against elite opponents in a while and noted that Paolini’s playing style caught her off guard, especially given her height, which made her powerful shots unexpected. With the Miami Open heating up, both Zverev and Paolini will be ones to watch in the coming rounds.