Norrie, Boulter Knocked Out Of Miami Open

Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter were both knocked out in the third round of the Miami Open, ending British hopes in the singles in Florida.

Norrie, 30, suffered a 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 defeat by 21-year-old Alex Michelsen of the United States in his first match of the tournament.

The 23rd seed, who replaced Jack Draper as British number one last week, lost a tight first set after Michelsen finally broke his serve with his sixth set point of the 12th game.

Norrie bounced back from a 3-0 deficit in the second set to force a tie-break which he won to force a deciding set.

However, a break in the third game of the third set proved pivotal for Michelsen as he served his way into the last 16 on home soil.

British number three Boulter, who had reached the third round of a WTA 1000 event for the first time in more than a year, succumbed 6-3 7-5 to 13th seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.

Muchova broke 29-year-old Boulter’s serve twice in the first set and only needed one more in the second set to go 6-5 ahead before she wrapped up the victory.

Elsewhere, British number four Fran Jones also exited the tournament, retiring in the second set of her match with American Jessica Pegula through illness.

Jones, 25, had knocked out Venus Williams in the first round despite feeling under the weather but struggled against Pegula.

Pegula had won the first set 6-1 and despite a medical timeout Jones, who was seen coughing several times during the match, decided at 3-0 down in the second set she was not well enough to continue.

“I didn’t want to lose the opportunity to play Venus, but it’s a whole different ball game playing Jess,” Jones said.

“You need to be 10 out of 10 to compete against her and I’m probably a four out of 10 today. If I’m not able to give my everything out there, I don’t see the point when I’m already battling my general fitness as it is.”

Gauff through but Osaka makes exit

Elsewhere in the women’s draw, American Coco Gauff dropped the first set but recovered to beat Alycia Parks 3-6 6-0 6-1 in the third round, while Amanda Anisimova was a 6-4 6-2 winner against Yuliia Starodubtseva and Victoria Mboko earned 6-1 7-5 victory over Anastasia Zakharova.

Former world number one Naomi Osaka, however, said she was trying to balance the tennis schedule with being a mother after she was beaten 7-5 6-4 by Australia’s Talia Gibson in their second round match.

“I feel like this also is a dilemma for me,” said Japan’s Osaka, who returned to the WTA Tour in January 2024 after a 15-month absence around the birth of her daughter in July 2023.

“For me, my daughter is very important, and I want to be a mom. I want to be the best mom I can, but sometimes I feel like I know what I have to do to become a really good player, and it’s very difficult.

“Because for me, I want to win titles and I want to be the best player I can, but if I have to sacrifice having a lot of time with my daughter, I’d rather not do it.”

In the men’s draw, world number two Jannik Sinner comfortably beat Damir Dzumhur 6-3 6-3, while Alexander Zverev beat wildcard Martin Damm 6-2 6-4.

Zverev will play Marin Cilic, who was a 2-6 6-4 7-6 (9-7) winner against Brandon Nakashima, in the third round.

Home favourite Ben Shelton did not progress as he suffered a surprise defeat by Alexander Shevchenko, who claimed a 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win against the world number nine.