KEY BISCAYNE: Six-time champion Novak Djokovic’s hopes of turning around his season at the Miami Open ended in the second round when he was defeated 6-3, 6-4 by Frenchman Benoit Paire here on Friday.

The loss snapped a 16-match winning streak in the tournament for the ninth-seeded Serb, who had been eliminated in the second round at Indian Wells but said before the match his right elbow was pain free for the first time in a long while.

He had won the tournament in 2014, 2015 and 2016 but missed last year’s event with the elbow injury.

The defeat also ended a streak of 21 consecutive victories over players from France for the former world number one.

Djokovic, who lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open and dropped his only match at Indian Wells last week, had not lost in three consecutive tournaments since the end of the 2007 season, when he dropped his final five matches.

Juan Martin del Potro survived a battle with Robin Haase to capture his 12th consecutive win, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.

Second seed Croatian Marin Cilic moved into the third round with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph over Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert and third seed Grigor Dimitrov rallied from a set down to beat German Maximilian Marterer 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.

David Goffin was unsuccessful in his return from an eye injury, the seventh seeded Belgian falling to Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-0, 6-1.

American Michael Mmoh produced another surprise, upsetting 12th seeded Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-4 in two hours, 43 minutes. Mmoh got the victory despite losing eight consecutive games after being up a set and 2-0.

Diego Schwartzman and Milos Raonic also moved on. Argentine Schwartzman, the 13th seed, dominated Chilean Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 6-1 while the 20th seeded Raonic cruised into the third round with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Swede Mikael Ymer that took 66 minutes.

Meanwhile in the women’s contest, Monica Puig shrugged off an opening set bagel to rally for a 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over world number two Caroline Wozniacki in the second round.

Ukrainian fourth seed Elina Svitolina ended Naomi Osaka’s remarkable run with a 6-4, 6-2 win.

Svitolina will next face Australian 26th seed Daria Gavrilova, who defeated German Andrea Petkovic 7-6(3), 6-4.

Venus Williams was unhappy with her shaky performance against qualifier Natalia Vikhlyantseva but advanced 7-5, 6-4.

Sixth seed Jelena Ostapenko defeated Timea Babos 6-4, 6-4 while ninth-ranked Petra Kvitova outlasted Aryna Sabalenka 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2018