German fourth seed to face in-form Borna Coric in quarter-finals at Crandon Park
Wednesday 28 March 2018 11:34, UK
Alexander Zverev produced an impressive display to defeat Nick Kyrgios and maintain his hopes of a maiden title this season at the Miami Open.
The pair met for the second consecutive year in Florida and this time the German gained a measure of revenge for his quarter-final loss last time around at Crandon Park, with an assured 6-4 6-4 victory.
Zverev had beaten the Australian in the Davis Cup last month and made it back-to-back victories in their burgeoning rivalry, with one break in each set proving decisive to book a last-eight meeting with Borna Coric.
"It's always entertaining playing him. I think the crowd enjoys it. The media hypes it up a little bit," Zverev said.
"We both enjoy this kind of stage. I think the crowd was loving it today. Obviously I'm very happy with how I played, and hopefully I can continue doing so in the next few rounds.
"We have had great matches in the past and I am excited what the future holds for us. I returned very well, that's [a] big factor against Nick. Borna is a very good player, it certainly won't be easy."
Zverev, who won two Masters 1000 titles last year, proved too strong for his Australian counterpart with his precision and hard-hitting from the baseline.
The 21-year-old Croatian maintained his recent run of form to overcome Canadian Denis Shapovalov 7-6(7-3) 4-6 6-4 in an exciting meeting between two of the most promising players on tour.
Coric, who reached the semi-finals at Indian Wells, traded the opening two sets against his NextGen opponent and eventually sealed victory, with a decisive break in the final game of the deciding set.
You can watch more ATP Masters 1000 action from the Miami Open when we continue our coverage on Wednesday from 8pm on Sky Sports Arena and Sky Sports Main Event.
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