Zverev advanced to the semi-finals of the Miami Open for the first time since 2018, securing a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan.
The Olympic champion showcased his strong serving skills and capitalized on four out of seven break points against the 57th-ranked Marozsan. Marozsan had previously defeated top-10 players Holger Rune and Alex de Minaur to reach the quarter-finals.
“I’m happy to be back in these late stages of these tournaments, playing the best players in the world, I think there are only those left,” said Zverev, 26.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Italian second seed Jannik Sinner and Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev secured spots in the Miami Open semi-finals on Wednesday, setting up a rematch of their recent Australian Open final.
Zverev, aiming for his first Grand Slam title, was defeated by Medvedev in the Melbourne semi-finals. Despite this, Zverev has consistently showcased his talent, reaching his 17th Masters 1,000 semi-final by defeating Marozsan.
In terms of Masters semi-finals appearances, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray are the only active players who have more appearances than Zverev, further highlighting his status as one of the ATP Tour’s top players.
In a Miami courtroom, former president Donald Trump entered a not guilty plea to federal charges in the case involving the sensitive documents.
On Tuesday afternoon, Trump was taken into custody and lodged at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. US Courthouse on federal charges.
A US Marshals Services official reported that the booking procedures for Trump and his close friend and co-defendant Walt Nauta were finished at 2:05 PM.
‘We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty, one of Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche, told the judge, according to The New York Times.
Trump did not have a mugshot taken, according to one of his lawyers, Alina Habba.
‘President Trump is in a very unique position where he does not need to be given a mugshot, obviously,’ Habba told reporters outside the courthouse.
‘He’s not a flight risk. He is the leading candidate of the GOP at the moment. He is going through a process that has been coordinated with the Secret Service and it will all be handled seamlessly.’
Trump entered the courtroom for his initial appearance around 2.45pm.
The ex-president arrived at courthouse shortly before 2pm to surrender on criminal charges around his handling of classified documents. His motorcade arrived about an hour before his scheduled 3pm arraignment and drove into an underground garage.
Trump supporters cheered as the motorcade drove in.
Hundreds of Trump fans and hundreds of reporters waited outside the courthouse for him to leave, The New York Times reported. There were also a smaller number of Trump opponents present.
Trump faces 37 felony counts around his alleged mishandling of classified documents that he took with him after leaving the White House to his Mar-a-Lago home.
Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman is presiding over the arraignment.
Nauta also arrived at the Miami courthouse on Trump’s motorcade. His lawyer Stanley Woodward entered the building separately. Nauta did not have a mugshot taken.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the Justice Department’s probe on the classified documents, is attending the arraignment.
Trump’s lawyers Blanche and Chris Kise were expected to appear with the him in the courtroom.
The ex-president’s last post on his Truth Social platform before he entered the courthouse was: ‘ONE OF THE SADDEST DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE!!!’
The trial will be overseen by a Trump appointee, Judge Aileen Cannon, who was randomly assigned. Cannon has previously issued rulings favorable to Trump.
Former First Lady Melania Trump was reportedly in New York City.
Meanwhile, dozens of reporters waited at Trump’s golf club in Bedminister, New Jersey, where he is expected to deliver remarks at 8.15pm.
Daniil Medvedev defeated Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-3 in the Miami Open final on Sunday, extending his unblemished record against him to six games.
Together with Felix Auger-Aliassime and Diego Schwartzman, Medvedev now has a 6-0 record against a single opponent after defeating Sinner in the Rotterdam Open final in February. This is the Russian’s greatest record against a single opponent.
With five break point opportunities to Medvedev’s three, Sinner had a fantastic chance to win the opening set. He also played flawless service games with no double faults, while Medvedev committed four.
The 21-year-old Italian could have forced a tiebreaker in the first set, but failed to hold his serve at 6-5 down, and Medvedev capitalised on the momentum to grab an immediate break to start the second frame.
To Sinner’s credit, he snatched the break right back, but Medvedev got another and safely served it out the rest of the way.
The writing was on the wall after the first set, as Medvedev came into the contest a perfect 24-0 this season when securing the opener, and the title is his 16th on hard courts since 2019, two more than second-placed Novak Djokovic (14) over the span.
It is his 19th singles title overall – at a 19th different tournament – and after a brief rough patch getting over the line, he has become one of the sport’s great finishers.
From November 2021 through June 2022 he lost five finals in a row, but he has since won six of his past seven, claiming his fifth Masters 1000 crown in the process.
Petra Kvitova defeated Elena Rybakina to win the Miami Open by a score of 7-6 (16-14) 6-2, ending Rybakina’s impressive run in the United States.
The 33-year-old, two-time grand slam champion Kvitova deprives rising star Rybakina of the Sunshine Double by becoming the second-oldest Miami champion.
Despite being in incredible shape and having just won the Indian Wells Open, Rybakina was unable to find her rhythm on Saturday.
Kvitova gained momentum in the second set after winning the first one in a drawn-out tie-break, cruising to a 5-2 lead before breaking to win it with a long forehand from Rybakina.
“It feels unbelievable. I’m 33, and it’s my 30th title, so I’m very happy,” Kvitova told Amazon Prime Sport.
“I didn’t think, that was the key. Elena didn’t lose a tie-break [this season]. I thought, well, she has to lose at some time. I had to be a bit more aggressive, it was a bit of a struggle. I was a bit nervous, yes.
“I would have laughed [if someone told me I was going to win] but it feels great for sure. Nobody expected this, not me, not my team. I’m happy I’m injury free and, oh my God, I made it.”
Kvitova is the second woman to win the singles title in Miami after turning 33, following Serena Williams in 2015.
Indeed, only Serena Williams (68), Justine Henin (42), Venus Williams (40), Kim Clijsters (40) and Maria Sharapova (36) have more WTA singles title to their name in the 21st century than the Czech.
Rybakina, meanwhile, will lament the chance of a Sunshine Double going begging.
The 23-year-old is the fourth player to fail to win the Sunshine Double in Miami’s final after Serena Williams (1999), Lindsay Davenport (2000) and Sharapova (2006 and 2013).
“I want to congratulate Petra for a great two weeks here in Miami, and good luck for the rest of the year,” said Rybakina. “Thank you to my team, we’ll keep going.”
World number 74 Sorana Cirstea produced a major shock in the Miami Open quarter-finals after toppling 2023 Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old Romanian triumphed 6-4 6-4 over the in-form Belarusian to progress to her first WTA-1000 semi-final for a decade, dating back to the 2013 Canadian Open in Toronto.
World number two Sabalenka came into the contest as the highest remaining seed after Iga Swiatek’s withdrawal, having won a tour-leading 20 matches this season.
But Cirstea blew Sabalenka away in one hour and 27 minutes, maintaining her fine run in Miami where she has not dropped a set in five matches.
Sabalenka hit more winners than Cirstea (21-16) but the Romanian was more polished, committing only nine unforced errors compared to the Australian Open winner’s 21.
Cirstea broke Sabalenka in the first game of each set and showed resolve when she served out victory from 15-40 down.
“I think I’m a bit speechless,” Cirstea said after the match. “I came out knowing that it’s going to be a really tough match. Aryna hits so hard, so I knew I had to hold my ground, and I’m very, very happy with my performance today.”
Cirstea’s list of scalps includes fifth seed Caroline Garcia, former top 20 player Karolina Muchova and now Sabalenka.
The Romanian also reached the quarter-finals at the Indian Wells Open a fortnight ago, losing to Swiatek in the last eight.
Cirstea will need to wait to learn her semi-final opponent with the quarter-final between 15th seed Petra Kvitova and 18th Ekaterina Alexandrova re-scheduled to Thursday after the evening session was cancelled due to persistent rain.
