MIAMI (AP) – The heat and humidity in South Florida remind Ash Barty of what conditions can be like in his native Australia. He loves it.
The world number one did not decline despite the weather conditions at the Miami Open. She took the final nine points to beat Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (7th seed) 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in the quarterfinal match – her third victory defined to a maximum of three sets in the four games he has played in the tournament.
The temperature reached almost 30 degrees Celsius (close to 90 F) on Tuesday and the humidity made it feel hotter, especially without any shade on the court. Barty and Sabalenka had a 10-minute break from the heat early in the third set. Although it did not give the impression that the defending champion in Miami needed the hiatus. Barty was crowned in 2019, but last year’s edition was canceled due to the pandemic.
Barty faced seven break points in the game and lifted them all. She will play in the semifinals against the winner of the duel between Elina Svitolina and Anastasija Sevastova, who played later.
Barty is 18-3 in his last 21 games that went into a third set, 10-1 in the quarterfinals and 12-3 in matches against Top 10 rivals.
In the early hours, Roberto Bautista Agut did not take the most expeditious way to reach the quarterfinals in Miami.
The seventh-seeded Spaniard lifted a match point before beating 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7) over John Isner, a former tournament champion. It was Bautista Agut’s second consecutive win to a maximum of three sets in Miami.
Bautista Agut will now face top seed Daniil Medvedev or American Frances Tiafoe. The Medvedev-Tiafoe duel was played later.
The current number 12 in the ATP rankings lost the first point of the tiebreaker of the third set with his serve, giving Isner – owner of a powerful serve – a favorable advantage. But the American blew it when he dropped a forehand return at the net five points later and then had a game ball after nailing an ace that put him up 6-5.
But Bautista Agut was undaunted, winning three of the last four points to get away with it.
“The games against him are always difficult because of his serve,” said Bautista Agut.
It was Isner’s most premature elimination in Miami since 2017, the year he lost in the third round. He was consecrated in 2018 and lost the 2019 final to Roger Federer.
Another American was also eliminated when the Kazakh Alexander Bublik, 32nd in the ranking, beat Taylor Fritz, seeded 22, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4. Bublik will meet Italian Jannik Sinner ( 21st seeded), who dispatched 6-2, 6-2 to Finn Emil Ruusuvuori.
