Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

Miami Open Masters 2021 Results: Naomi Osaka's Loss Highlights Wednesday Results

Joseph Zucker

Naomi Osaka's time in the Miami Open has reached its end after the Australian Open champion fell to Maria Sakkari in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Despite the loss, it was Osaka's best showing in the tournament after she had failed to advance past the third round in her first four tries.

Here's a recap of how things unfolded in Miami Gardens, Florida.

            

Men's Singles

No. 21 Jannik Sinner def. No. 32 Alexander Bublik 7-6(5), 6-4

No. 7 Roberto Bautista Agut def. No. 1 Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-2

          

Women's Singles

No. 23 Maria Sakkari def. No. 2 Naomi Osaka 6-0, 6-4

No. 8 Bianca Andreescu def. Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

            

Recap

Osaka couldn't keep winning forever following her February triumph in Melbourne, Australia. Few would've foreseen her streak ending like this, though.

Maria Sakkari jumped on the four-time major champion early, breaking her serve in the opening game of the match. That set the tone as Osaka won just six points on serve in the set. Osaka also got only seven first serves in, which allowed Sakkari to more easily go on the offensive.

The set point with Sakkari up 5-0 summed up the frame as Osaka's backhand return sliced well wide.

Osaka seemed to right the ship in the second set as she broke Sakkari in the second game en route to taking a 4-1 lead. However, the 25-year-old Greek remained composed and reeled off the next five games.

Sakkari remained coy after the match when referencing the plan of attack she had laid out with coach Tom Hill, per WTA.com:

"I don't think tennis-wise it was like the best tennis I have ever played in my life. I think I executed our strategy with Tom really well. I just did what I had to do. I'm not gonna tell you what. What we discussed before the match, I just did it most of the match, except maybe a couple of games where things didn't go right."

Bianca Andreescu will be opposing Sakkari in the semifinals after the 20-year-old Canadian overcame a tough challenge from Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Things couldn't have started much worse for Andreescu, who dropped her first two service games to fall behind 0-3. She quickly regained her composure to break Sorribes Tormo back in the fourth game.

The turning point came as Andreescu earned another break to level things at four games apiece. She then cruised to claim the first set.

The second set saw eight breaks of serve, and Sorribes Tormo's hold in the eighth game proved to be the difference.

Sorribes Tormo's poor serving continued into the third, while Andreescu did just enough to survive. She saved five of six break-point opportunities.

Per WTATennis.com, the 2019 U.S. Open champion had the same number of winners as unforced errors, collecting 42 in each category. While the stronger player, she left the door wide open for Sorribes Tormo to pull off the upset.

On the men's side, Jannik Sinner got the better of Alexander Bublik for the second tournament in a row.

Bublik put himself in the driver's seat in the first set by breaking Sinner's serve to grab a 2-1 lead. Down 3-5 and with his back against the wall, Sinner fought back and tied the set at five before the two were forced into a tiebreaker.

Once again, Bublik built a solid advantage at the start but couldn't finish the job. Trailing 1-4, Sinner won six of the next seven points.

The margins were similarly small in the second set. The breakthrough came when Bublik dropped serve in the ninth game to fall behind 4-5. That was the opening Sinner needed to eventually close out the match.

   

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