De Minaur, Zverev advance; Gauff exits

MANILA, Philippines — Australia’s Alex de Minaur put an end to Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca’s challenge at the Miami Open, outlasting the 18-year-old 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in an enthralling contest.

Attendance on stadium court had been sparse throughout Monday, but the Hard Rock Stadium turned into a mini-Maracana Stadium for Fonseca’s match, complete with Brazilian flags and football-style chanting.

Such was the dominance of Fonseca’s raucous support that the referee switched to Portuguese for his appeals for quiet.

But De Minaur won six of the final seven games to move into the fourth round, keeping his cool even when the crowd, at times, disrupted his serve preparation.

“Mentally I was ready for this match, I knew I was not only going to play an incredible talent like Joao, playing with immense confidence and nothing to lose, but also an incredible crowd that was on his side from the first point until the last,” De Minaur said.

Top seed Alexander Zverev recovered from a slow start to power into the fourth round of the Miami Open with a 7-5, 6-4 win against Australia’s Jordan Thompson.

Third-seed Taylor Fritz also moved into the fourth round beating Denis Shapovalov of Canada 7-5, 6-3.

In the women’s draw, third-seed Coco Gauff’s bid ended with a 6-4 6-4 loss to Poland’s Magda Linette.

Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka eased her way into the Last 8 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over last year’s winner Danielle Collins of the USA.