Alcaraz continues his Sunny Double mission, Ruud dropped out in Miami

Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) continues his 'Sunny Double' mission after beating Dusan Lajovic (Serbia) 6-0, 7-6(5) to advance to the fourth round of the Masters hardcourt tournament in Miami (USA) with a prize fund of 8.8 million dollars.

The world No. 1 arrived in Florida after winning the title in Indian Wells, but has adapted to the faster conditions in Miami in a flash and is confidently heading towards the defense of his title.

The Spaniard recorded 27 winning shots against only 8 of his opponent, and there were some fluctuations in his game only at the end of the second set, when he squandered a 5:3 game lead. In the subsequent tiebreak, Alcaraz pulled ahead 6:2, but managed to close the match only on his fourth match point.

"I feel fast on the court, I'm moving very well. I'm happy with the variability I'm playing with. I'm using a lot of different shots and things are working out. I'm enjoying every second here," commented the Spaniard, who recorded his 16th win in 17 matches during the season.

The 19-year-old Alcaraz will be looking for a place in the quarter-finals against the hosts' representative Tommy Paul, who reached this stage of the tournament for the first time after a 6-3, 7-5 victory over fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovic Fokina. Last year's finalist and No. 3 seed Kasper Ruud (Norway) made a disappointing third-round exit after losing to Botik van de Zandshulp (Netherlands) 6-3, 4-6, 4-6 in a nervy match in which both made over 30 unprovoked errors.

Ruud, ranked fourth in the ATP rankings, squandered an early break lead in the third set, converting just 2 of 15 break chances in the match, and Van de Zandshulp converted to earn his first win over a top-5 player. The Dutchman's next opponent , placed at number 26, will be Emil Ruusuvuori (Finland), who eliminated the participating "wild card" Taro Daniel (Brazil) 6:3, 7:6(3).

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