{"id":540225,"date":"2026-03-23T09:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T09:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/540225\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T09:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T09:52:09","slug":"defending-champion-sabalenka-into-miami-last-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/540225\/","title":{"rendered":"Defending champion Sabalenka into Miami last 16"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aryna Sabalenka’s bid to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’ continued as she swept past Caty McNally to reach the last 16 of the Miami Open.<\/p>\n

World number one Sabalenka is aiming to become only the fifth woman to win at Indian Wells and Miami in the same year.<\/p>\n

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Having lifted the first of those titles<\/a> in California this month, Belarusian Sabalenka extended her winning streak to eight matches with a 6-4 6-2 victory over American McNally.<\/p>\n

They twice exchanged breaks of serve before Sabalenka broke again to take the opening set, then won four straight games from 2-2 in the second.<\/p>\n

The defending champion will face China’s Zheng Qinwen on Monday.<\/p>\n

Zheng beat American 15th seed Madison Keys to claim her first win over a top-20 player since having elbow surgery in July.<\/p>\n

Sabelenka has won seven of her eight meetings with Olympic champion Zheng.<\/p>\n

Third seed Elena Rybakina cruised into the last 16 with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.<\/p>\n

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Kazakhstan’s Rybakina will play Australian qualifier Talia Gibson, who knocked out another seeded player courtesy of a 6-2 6-2 win over 18th seed Iva Jovic.<\/p>\n

Gibson, who reached the Indian Wells quarter-finals, beat former world number one Naomi Osaka in the second round in Miami.<\/p>\n

Fifth-seeded American Jessica Pegula, runner-up to Sabalenka last year, needed only an hour and six minutes to beat Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-2.<\/p>\n

Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, runner-up in Miami in 2018, fought back to claim a 5-7 6-2 7-5 win over seventh seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy.<\/p>\n

Ostapenko will next play American world number 45 Hailey Baptiste, who beat Ukrainian ninth seed Elina Svitolina 6-3 7-5.<\/p>\n

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