Zheng Qinwen Finds Her Own Reasons for Loss, Russian Top Players Suffer Defeats, Masters Champion Falls Short in Title Defense, Djokovic's Record Broken

Three Minutes Daily to Know Global Tennis News. Hello tennis fans, today is Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Welcome to the News Midday Report provided by "Tennis Home".

Last night and early this morning Beijing time, the ATP/WTA1000 Miami Open continued. Women's Singles: In a key fourth-round match, China's top player Zheng Qinwen battled the defending champion and world No.1 Sabalenka for two sets, ultimately losing 3-6, 4-6 and failing to advance to the quarterfinals. This marks Zheng's seventh loss to Sabalenka on hard courts, with no victories in all seven encounters.

In fact, Zheng performed quite well in this match, especially when she resiliently broke Sabalenka's first service game to win the set after trailing 1-5 in the first set. She also secured multiple break points in the second set and did not fall behind in baseline offense and defense. However, a mere 40% first-serve in rate and excessive unforced errors ultimately led to her defeat.

After the match, in an interview with a domestic video platform, Zheng Qinwen stated that her technique is not inferior to her opponent's. When competing against top players, the outcome hinges on just a few games and key points. Possibly due to a long period without matches, her mental strength and focus were insufficient, particularly evident on crucial points, such as failing to convert a 40-0 lead into a break. These are areas she needs to improve in future matches.

Sabalenka, who advanced to the quarterfinals, will face local player Baptiste for a semifinal spot. Baptiste defeated No.25 seed Ostapenko 6-3, 6-4, marking her first career entry into a 1000-level tournament quarterfinals. No.3 seed Rybakina swept past qualifier dark horse Gibson 6-2, 6-2, achieving her twentieth career appearance in a 1000-level quarterfinals. Next, she will compete against Pegula for a semifinal berth; Pegula defeated Romanian Christian 6-4, 6-1.

No.4 seed Gauff eliminated Romanian Costea 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, reaching her first quarterfinals at this event and accomplishing the feat of advancing to at least the quarterfinals in ten different 1000-level tournaments. Next, she will face No.12 seed Bencic, who swept past local star Anisimova 6-2, 6-2, returning to the event's quarterfinals after four years.

In another youth showdown, No.10 seed Mboko defeated No.8 seed, Russia's top player Mira Andreeva, 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-0 with a bagel, marking her fourth career entry into a 1000-level quarterfinals. Next, she will once again face Czech star Muchova, following their final in Doha; Muchova swept past Philippines' top player Iela 6-0, 6-2 with a bagel.

Doubles: In a key second-round match, No.4 seed, the Chinese-Belgian pair Zhang Shuai/Mertens defeated the local duo Brady/McNally 6-3, 7-6(7), securing a quarterfinal spot. The Chinese pair Jiang Xinyu/Xu Yifan defeated Buzkova/Valentova 6-3, 6-2, also advancing to the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Yang Zhaoxuan/Kato Miwori lost to No.6 seed Muhammad/Lutlif 2-6, 1-6, failing to progress.

Men's Singles: In a key third-round match, last week's Indian Wells runner-up and No.9 seed, Russia's top player Medvedev, performed poorly and was eliminated by No.18 seed F. Cerundolo 6-0, 4-6, 7-5 with a bagel, missing out on the round of 16.

Local No.19 seed Tiafoe saved two match points in the deciding set tiebreak and also missed six match points, but ultimately converted on his seventh match point, defeating defending champion and No.12 seed Menshik 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(11).

In another key match, No.2 seed Sinner swept past Frenchman Mutai 6-1, 6-4, achieving an eight-match winning streak and powerfully advancing to the round of 16. Next, he will face local player Mikkelsen. After this match, Sinner also broke a record held by Serbian tennis king Djokovic: his consecutive winning sets in Masters tournaments reached 26, surpassing Djokovic's 24, placing him alone at the top.

Other matches: No.3 seed Zverev defeated Croatian veteran Cilic 6-2, 5-7, 6-4; Frenchman Atmanana upset No.7 seed Aliasim 6-3, 1-6, 6-3; French star Humbert defeated Kazakh Shevchenko 6-4, 7-6(2); another Frenchman Aris eliminated Polish player Mezhzak 7-6(4), 6-1.

Finally, let's guess and identify. The image below shows a player covering her face with her hand after losing. Without hints, can you recognize who she is?

Last issue's guess was correctly answered by a tennis friend. Indeed, the person in the image is Japanese star Naomi Osaka.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Unique Individual)