Miami Open: Britain's Katie Boulter loses to Victoria Azarenka in fourth round

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This past January, Katie Boulter was able to make it to the second round of the Australian Open.

Katie Boulter, the top-ranked British player, has been eliminated from the Miami Open following a loss in the fourth round to Victoria Azarenka from Belarus.

The athlete who is 27 years of age and holds the 30th position in the world rankings, suffered a defeat with a score of 7-5 and 6-1.

Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek, who holds the top spot globally, has been eliminated from the tournament following her 6-4 6-2 loss to Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova, who was seeded 14th.

Coco Gauff, the third-ranked player in the world from the United States, was surprised by Caroline Garcia from France, who is seeded 23rd. Garcia won 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, which allowed her to make it to the quarterfinals in Miami for the first time.

Azarenka, who has won two Grand Slam titles and is 34 years old, has advanced to the quarter-finals and will be facing Yulia Putintseva from Kazakhstan.

Garcia, who won against Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, in the last round, is set to face off against American player Danielle Collins to secure a spot in the semi-finals.

Collins defeated Sorana Cirstea from Romania by a score of 6-3 and 6-2, advancing to the quarterfinals.

In another location, Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan, who is ranked fourth in the world, advanced by winning 6-3, 7-5 against American player Madison Keys. This ensures that Rybakina will now play against Greek player Maria Sakkari, who is seeded eighth.

Sakkari advanced to the quarter-finals without playing a match because her Russian rival Anna Kalinskaya withdrew from the competition.

Jessica Pegula, who is ranked fifth-seed, has advanced to the quarterfinals after winning against Emma Navarro with a score of 7-6 and 6-3. Her next opponent will be Alexandrova.

Boulter Fights, But Falls Short

Boulter advanced to the fourth round of the tournament for the first time after defeating Beatriz Haddad Maia from Brazil without losing a single set.

The United Kingdom player managed to break back and prevent Azarenka from winning the first set when she was serving. Later, she also saved two opportunities for Azarenka to break her and tied the score at 5-5.

However, Azarenka who has won the Miami tournament three times, struck again in just two games, breaking Boulter easily and winning the first set. The game was closely contested, but Azarenka was victorious.

In the following round, Azarenka dominated and quickly secured a significant advantage with two consecutive breaks, leading Boulter five games to zero. It wasn't until the sixth game that Boulter finally scored a point.

Although Boulter was able to rescue two match points, she wasn't able to overpower Azarenka. Azarenka's next rival is none other than Putintseva who defeated Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine with a score of 6-4 and 7-6 (7-5).

Alexandrova Dominates Swiatek In Match

Swiatek had plans to achieve the sunshine double of winning both the Indian Wells and the Miami Open tournaments, but unfortunately, she lost the very first game of the match.

The Polish player found it challenging to deal with the strength of Alexandrova's serve and her shots from the back of the court.

"This is my second quarter-final match and it's the second consecutive year that I've reached this stage," said Alexandrova. "After many attempts, I finally managed to defeat Iga, who is currently ranked number one. This is the first time I've ever beaten the top-ranked player. These three achievements are very significant to me."

I'm uncertain if it's unexpected or not, though I exerted myself considerably on the basketball court and it resulted in success.

Gauff Dominates Match With Control

Gauff is a 20-year-old tennis player who achieved her first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2020. She had high expectations for her performance at her home tournament.

As an individual, I tend to carry the burden of each defeat heavily, particularly the latest one. Today's loss was especially heavy because I believed I had the potential to perform better. I felt like I had control over the match, particularly after the second set.

Being at home is beneficial as I am able to drive to my residence and sleep in my own bed.

I desire to have achieved more during the hard-court season.

Gauff expressed her enthusiasm for the upcoming clay season despite her defeat to Swiatek in the 2022 French Open final.