No sweat for champion Medvedev and young guns

MIAMI The Miami Open men's draw is shaping up to be a battle of the defending champion and the young guns, as Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner all marched into the quarter-finals with convincing victories.

Medvedev, who beat Sinner in the 2023 final, earned a 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 win over Germany's Dominik Koepfer on March 26 while top seed Alcaraz cruised past Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-3.

Second seed Sinner of Italy also moved into the last eight, beating Christopher O'Connell of Australia 6-4, 6-3.

Alcaraz, who is searching for the "Sunshine Double" after winning in Indian Wells, was too strong for 23rd seed Musetti although the Italian certainly contributed to a crowd-pleasing contest.

Stadium court erupted after a rally in the third game of the second set saw Musetti clip the ball between his legs, lobbing Alcaraz but the Spaniard returned it with a "tweener" only to lose the point to a deft volley at the net.

But overall, it was a comfortable match for Alcaraz, 20, whose all-round game looks in strong shape.