Raonic becomes latest Canadian upset by Hurkacz at Miami Open
Women's top seed Barty overcomes heat, humidity to dispatch Sabalenka
Canada's Milos Raonic is out of the Miami Open after losing a close match in the round of 16.
The 12th-seeded Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., lost 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) to No. 26 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland on Tuesday.
It was the second upset in a row against a Canadian for Hurkacz, who knocked off No. 6 seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., on Monday, and his third against a North American opponent after downing American Denis Kudla in the second round.
"Just the way it worked out this week so far," Hurkacz said. "Very happy with my performances.
"Obviously pumped to play another match here in Miami. Just trying my best."
WATCH | Raonic upset by Poland's Hurkacz at Miami Open round of 16:
Raonic fell one win short of making the quarterfinals at the ATP Masters 1000 event for the fourth time.
Hurkacz will face No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, a 6-2, 7-6 (2) winner over No. 24 Lorenzo Sonego of Italy in the final match Tuesday night.
Hurkacz got a mini-break on the first point of the third-set tiebreak and never trailed. Raonic fought off three match points before Hurkacz finished him off.
Raonic saved 10-of-11 break points he faced in the match, while converting on one-of-two.
Raonic's big weapon — his serve — wasn't as effective as his opponent's. The Canadian won 75 per cent of his points when he got his first serve in, while Hurkacz was good for 81 per cent.
Hurkacz had 14 aces, two more than Raonic.
"I think I served very well and that helped me to stay in the game and be competitive against Milos ... He's a very dangerous player," Hurkacz said.
"I'm pretty happy with my serve today, and I felt I was returning pretty good. In the middle of the first set he was serving bombs and I was just trying to hold my serve to be there."
In a women's doubles quarterfinal Tuesday, Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico beat Americans Coco Gauff and Caty McNally 6-4, 7-6 (4).
In women's singles, eighth-seeded Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., will face unseeded Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain in a quarterfinal Wednesday night.
Korda upsets Schwartzman
20-year-old Sebastian Korda of the United States stunned fifth-seeded Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 for the biggest win of his career to date. And it'll make for an interesting Thursday for the Korda family: he'll be in the Miami quarterfinals that day while his sisters, Jessica and Nelly, will be playing in the first round of the first women's golf major of the year, the ANA Inspiration.
Korda, whose father Petr Korda reached No. 2 in the world during his stellar career, put on a show to delight the evening crowd. He was broken at 5-4 in the third to give Schwartzman hope, then responded by breaking the Argentine right back and finally serving out the match.
"I love the heat and I love the humidity. The hotter it is, the more humid it is, the happier I am," said Korda, who faces fourth-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia in the quarterfinals. Rublev beat Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday night.
WATCH | Korda advances to quarters after upsetting Schwartzman:
Barty unfazed by humidity
The heat and humidity this time of year in South Florida remind Ash Barty of what conditions can be like in her native Australia. She loves it.
The world's top-ranked player didn't wilt in the conditions Tuesday at the Miami Open, winning the final nine points to finish off No. 7 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in a quarter-final matchup — her third three-set win in four matches in this tournament.
The temperature reached the mid-80s Fahrenheit (upper 20s Celsius) on Tuesday and the humidity made it feel even hotter, especially so without any shade on the court. Barty and Sabalenka got a 10-minute heat break before starting the third set, though the defending Miami champion from when the event was last held two years ago looked like she didn't need much downtime.
Barty faced seven break points in the match and saved them all. She'll meet No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina in Thursday's semifinals; Svitolina eased past Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday night to make the final four in Miami for the first time.
Barty is now 18-3 in her last 21 three-setters, 10-1 in her last 11 quarter-final matches and 12-3 in her last 15 meetings against fellow top-10 players.
Meanwhile, Roberto Bautista Agut didn't take the easiest route to the Miami quarter-finals.
The No. 7 seed from Spain fought off a match point before ousting former Miami champion and No. 18 seed John Isner of the U.S. 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7) — his second three-set win in as many matches so far in the tournament.
Bautista Agut will face top-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the quarter-finals.
Medvedev reached the quarters with a straight-set win over Tiafoe, achieving 11 aces and showing no signs of wear, two days after cramping in the heat during a third-round win.
Bautista Agut lost the first point of the third-set tiebreaker on his serve, giving the big-hitting Isner the early edge. Isner lost the mini-break by putting a forehand into the net five points later, then gave himself match point after a 138 mph ace for a 6-5 edge.
Bautista Agut wasn't fazed, as he won three of the last four points and escaped.
It was Isner's earliest Miami exit since 2017, when he lost in the third round. He won the tournament in 2018 and lost the final in 2019 to Roger Federer in straight sets.
Another American man bowed out when No. 32 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan downed 22nd-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4. Bublik will face No. 21 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy in the quarter-finals; Sinner advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland.
"The serve was going well today," Bublik said.
All eight of the men's round-of-16 matches were set to be played Tuesday. Isner and Fritz were two of the four U.S. men to reach that round.
With files from The Associated Press
