(Reuters) – Coco Gauff lost to unseeded Magda Linette 6-4 6-4 on Monday as she missed out on a place in the Miami Open quarter-finals after a tough day for Americans as holder Danielle Collins, Amanda Anisimova and Ashlyn Krueger also went out in straight sets.
Gauff, seeded third, struggled mightily with her serve, committing 12 double faults and putting just half of her first serves into play while unforced errors piled up against her 34th-ranked Polish opponent.
Linette held her nerve as the South Florida crowd came alive after Gauff pulled ahead 4-3 in the second set and the Pole ultimately prevailed to notch her first win over a top-three player since 2021.
Next up for Linette is Italian sixth seed Jasmine Paolini, who beat Japan’s Naomi Osaka 3-6 6-4 6-4 earlier on Monday.
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka crushed 23 winners including seven aces to overpower defending champion Collins 6-4 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals where she will meet Qinwen Zheng, who beat Krueger 6-2 7-6(3) in their round of 16 match.
World number one Sabalenka will be a heavy favorite against Zheng, who has never beaten the Belarusian in their five previous career meetings.
Jessica Pegula was left to fly the flag for the American women after she won the final six games of her match to see off Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-3.
Pegula, seeded fourth, will meet Briton Emma Raducanu next after the former U.S. Open champion beat Anisimova 6-1 6-3 in hot and humid conditions.
Raducanu did not drop a point on serve in the first set against the 17th seed and outmaneuvered her in a rally on match point to seal the win.
It will be the first quarter-final of a WTA 1000 event for the 22-year-old Raducanu, who has split her two previous career meetings with Pegula.
“I know it’s going to be a really difficult match but I think I’m playing pretty good tennis,” Raducanu told Tennis Channel.
“I’m really happy with the way things are going and more importantly just enjoying finding the competitive spirit again.”
American men also struggled on Monday, with Frances Tiafoe falling 7-6(11) 5-7 6-2 to Frenchman Arthur Fils and Reilly Opelka losing 7-6(1) 6-3 to Czech Tomas Machac in their third-round matches.
Fils will face top seed Alexander Zverev after the German beat Australia’s Jordan Thompson 7-5 6-4.
Third seed Taylor Fritz is the lone American man standing after taking out Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 7-5 6-3 to set up a date with tournament lucky loser Adam Walton in the round of 16.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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