Miami
As Naomi Osaka’s 23-match winning streak neared an end Wednesday, she paused before serving to crane her neck and study the sky, as if seeking intervention from above.
Then she carried on, and so did No. 23-seeded Maria Sakkari, who upset Osaka 6-0, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open.
“The more stuff like this happens, the more I’ll learn from it,” the No. 2-ranked Osaka said. Osaka’s defeat was her first since February 2020, and it ended any chance of reclaiming the No. 1 ranking this week from Ash Barty, who is in the semifinals.
The men’s favorite departed nearly 12 hours later when No. 1-seeded Daniil Medvedev lost to No. 7 seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain, 6-4, 6-2. Medvedev mangled his racket in anger after he lost serve to fall behind late in the first set, and little went right for him the rest of the way.
“If he broke a racket, it’s because he lost his patience,” Bautista Agut said. “I think I did some great things to put him under pressure and feel like this.”
Medvedev fell to 0-3 against Bautista Agut, one of the six players left in the men’s draw. None has won a Masters 1000 event.
Sakkari will next play No. 8-seeded Bianca Andreescu of Canada, who dropped serve eight times but still outlasted unseeded Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.—AFP
