MIAMI: For tennis up-and-comers like Stefanos Tsitsipas, the draw at the Miami Open began to look a lot less daunting even before the tournament began.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer withdrew because of injuries, and Novak Djokovic decided against making the trip from his native Serbia. They stayed home with their 58 Grand Slam trophies.

“It’s a first test to see how it is playing without them,” Tsitsipas said after his third-round victory on Saturday. “There is going to be a time in the future where this is going to be more frequent and happening more regularly, and maybe even a standard soon. So, yeah, we get a taste of how it is playing without them.”

Second-seeded Tsitsipas is among those with the best chance to take advantage, and he looked the part against Damir Dzumhur, winning 6-1, 6-4.

The 22-year-old Greek used his serve to dominate Dzumhur, who never had a break point.

The three-time Grand Slam semi-finalist next faces Japanese 28th seed Kei Nishikori, who outlasted Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene 7-6 (8-6), 5-7, 6-4.

Two other title contenders, fourth seed Andrey Rublev and sixth seed Denis Shapovalov, advanced in night matches.

Rain was the only thing that slowed down men’s fourth seed Andrey Rublev in a 6-1, 6-2 victory over American Tennys Sandgren.

Shapovalov also endured a rain interruption in the third set before finishing off Ilya Ivashka 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4.

Sebastian Korda, a 20-year-old American, fuelled the buzz building regarding his potential by rallying past 17th-ranked Fabio Fognini 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

In women’s play, top-ranked Ash Barty and three-time champion Victoria Azarenka advanced to a round of 16 showdown.

Barty beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 and had a much easier time than in the previous round, when she saved a match point to beat qualifier Kristina Kucova.

Azarenka, of Belarus, beat 24th seed Angelique Kerber of Germany 7-5, 6-2 in a battle of former world number ones.

The women’s draw lost world number three Simona Halep of Romania, who withdrew from her scheduled match with Latvian Anastasija Sevastova with a right shoulder injury.

Sevastova received a walkover into the fourth round, where she will face 338th-ranked Ana Konjuh of Croatia, who upset 15th-seeded Polish teen Iga Swiatek, the reigning French Open champion, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

Fifth seed Elina Svitolina eliminated Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, and No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka ousted Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2021