Felix Auger-Aliassime falls to John Isner in tight battle at Miami Open
Hobbled Daniil Medvedev limps into 4th round
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime lost 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) to American John Isner in a third-round match at the Miami Open on Sunday.
Neither player had a break-point opportunity Sunday with both Auger-Aliassime and Isner winning more than 80 per cent of points when they got their first serve in.
The 11th-seeded Auger-Aliassime lost his third straight tiebreak against the 18th-seeded Isner in the first set on Sunday. The Canadian missed an easy overhead smash on his first service point, giving the hard-serving Isner the advantage he needed to finish it off.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime ousted by Isner in 3rd round:
Isner took the final point off Auger-Aliassime's serve after a long rally to finish off the match.
The six-foot-10 Isner has won all 11 of his tiebreaks in Miami.
Isner won the Miami title in 2018 and was a finalist in 2019.
On the women's side, eighth-seeded Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., is scheduled to face No. 28 seed Amanda Anisimova later Sunday.
No. 6 seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., and No. 12 seed Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., are scheduled to play third-round men's matches on Monday.
Hobbled Medvedev limps into 4th round
Daniil Medvedev could barely walk, much less run. He could still serve, though.
Hobbled by cramps, the top-ranked Medvedev limped through the final few games Sunday to edge Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (3), 6-7 (7), 6-4 in the third round at the Miami Open.
Medvedev failed to convert three match points in the second set after taking a 5-2 lead. An hour later the Russian was still playing, and on a humid afternoon with temperatures in the mid 80s, he paid a price.
He broke in the final set for a 4-3 lead, but by then he was struggling with his movement. To keep rallies short, Medvedev began hitting high-risk shots, and made enough of them to close out the 2 1/2-hour match.
When Popyrin misfired on a backhand on the final point, Medvedev shuffled to the net with a smile that turned into a wince. He'll have two days to recover before his fourth-round match.
With files from The Associated Press
