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Rybakina rallies past Badosa, Potapova upsets Gauff in Miami – ARN News Centre
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Elena Rybakina kept her “Sunshine Double” hopes alive as she battled from the brink to beat Paul Badosa in the Miami Open third round on Saturday, while Russian Anastasia Potapova upset Coco Gauff in three sets.
Wimbledon champion Rybakina, fresh off her Indian Wells triumph last week, calmly saved a match point on serve in the second set and fired 60 winners, including a dozen aces, as she earned a gutsy 3-6 7-5 6-3 win.
Rybakina, who also had to go the distance in her opening match against Anna Kalinskaya, struggled to find her rhythm on serve in the opening set but wrestled back momentum in the second.
After being broken four times in the first set, Rybakina held her serve in all but one game in the remainder of the contest and confidently closed out victory in two hours and 31 minutes.
“It didn’t start well in the first set but in the end I just found some energy,” Rybakina said. “I was trying to push more on the serve and started to move better on the court. It was a really tough battle.
“I was trying to focus on every point because the first set didn’t go my way. But it was just a few mistakes here and there. Overall, I played well. Paula was serving well. Just happy that I was able to manage in three sets.”
Russian 27th seed Potapova produced some of her best tennis to see off world number six Gauff in a 6-7(8) 7-5 6-2 win and set up a meeting with China’s Zheng Qinwen.
Potapova mounted a stout defense to fend off 10 of 13 break points and grinned widely as she fired down an unreturnable serve to secure the win.
Up 5-2 in the first set, it looked as though it might be an easy day for Potapova. But Gauff turned the tables when she converted break point chances in the ninth and 11th games and closed the tiebreak with a lethal backhand.
Potapova regained her composure in the second set and pummeled her opponent with her mighty forehand as she broke serve in the penultimate game and dropped only one first-serve point as she won the final five games.
On the men’s side, Indian Wells runner-up Daniil Medvedev breezed past Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1 6-2 in just over an hour to reach the third round, where he will face Alex Molcan of Slovakia.
In his first match since Carlos Alcaraz snapped his 19-match winning run, Medvedev barely broke a sweat as he hit 18 winners to Carballes Baena’s five in a dominant victory.
Canadian fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime unleashed a dozen aces to edge out Brazilian Thiago Monteiro 7-6(5) 7-6(8) and set up a third-round meeting with last year’s semi-finalist Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.
“That’s the longest I’ve ever played two sets, definitely,” Auger-Aliassime said after the two hour, 40 minute match. “He made me work for it.”
Greek second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, runner-up at this year’s Australian Open, reached the third round after opponent Richard Gasquet of France withdrew with an ankle injury. Tsitsipas will next face Chile’s Christian Garin.
World number three Jessica Pegula made quick work of her fellow American Danielle Collins 6-1 7-6(0). She will meet Polish 20th seed Magda Linette for a place in the quarter-finals.
Earlier, the home fans leapt to their feet as 55th-ranked American Mackenzie McDonald survived a barrage of aces to upset Italian 19th seed Matteo Berrettini 7-6(8) 7-6(5). He will next face France’s Quentin Halys.
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Tributes have poured in after the son of former Chelsea star Eddie Newton was found dead alongside his friend following a hike in the UAE, where temperatures soared to 50C.
Cassius Newton, 34, and his friend Aran Martinson, 33, were found by rescuers on July 18 after setting out on a hike in the mountainous Wadi Naqab region.
The pair, from Dorset and Essex respectively, both lived and worked in the UAE. Their bodies were discovered between 3km and 4km from their vehicle.
According to a report, Chelmsford area coroner Michelle Brown said their provisional causes of death included cardiac and respiratory arrest.
Cassius, a non-league footballer, was the son of former Chelsea midfielder and coach Eddie Newton, who spent more than a decade with the club.
His wife was in the UK when she became concerned after Cassius failed to contact her following the hike and reported him missing.
The two men had been living at a luxury resort in Ras Al Khaimah.
Tributes after desert tragedy
Tributes poured in after the deaths.
Aran’s wife described him as “incredibly driven, hardworking and ambitious”, saying he had recently begun a new chapter in his career and was excited about the future.
Blackfield & Langley Football Club paid tribute to their former player, saying: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the sad news of the passing of former player Cassius Newton; our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his family and friends during this difficult time.”
National League club Eastleigh, where Cassius had previously played, said it was “deeply saddened” by his death.
Chelsea connection
Cassius’ father Eddie Newton played for Chelsea from 1990 to 2001 and famously scored in the club’s 1997 FA Cup final victory.
The former midfielder also represented Cardiff City, Birmingham City, Oxford United and Barnet.
After retiring as a player, Newton moved into coaching, working as assistant manager at MK Dons and West Brom before returning to Chelsea.
He later served as assistant manager under Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benítez.
(With inputs from BBC, The Sun)
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