Cameron Norrie rallies past Hugo Gaston to reach fourth round in Miami

Cameron Norrie overcame a late wobble to defeat Hugo Gaston and move into the fourth round of the Miami Open.

Andy Murray, Dan Evans and Heather Watson all fell on Saturday to leave Norrie as the only British singles representative, but that is a position to which the 26-year-old is becoming accustomed.

He is on course to break into the top 10 for the first time next week and was ultimately too strong for talented Frenchman Gaston, winning 6-3 7-5.

Norrie looked set to win more comfortably, recovering from dropping serve in the opening game of the match to move a set and 5-3 ahead.

He held five match points on his opponent’s serve and then another on his own in the following game but was unable to take any of them, with Gaston using all his trickery to claw his way back into the match.

However, Norrie broke serve again to move 6-5 in front – with Gaston smacking the net and then a ball into the crowd in frustration – and finally clinched an eighth match point.

He told Amazon Prime Video: “It was one of those days where it was tough to close it out. I was a little bit stressed there. I managed to sneak through. I just got a little bit tentative and lost my feet and wasn’t moving enough.

“I was really happy with how I responded to getting broken. He’s a tricky guy. You feel like you need to be really aggressive otherwise he’s going to throw in a drop shot at any moment. I think that’s something I need to work on.”

Nick Kyrgios continued his encouraging start to the season as he beat Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-4, while the men’s event also saw wins for Casper Ruud and Francis Tiafoe.

The Australian’s doubles partner and compatriot, Thanasi Kokkinakis, outlasted American Denis Kudla 7-6 (5) 4-6 7-6 (4) to set up a fourth-round clash with second seed Alexander Zverev, who breezed past Mackenzie McDonald 6-2 6-2.

Italy’s Jannik Sinner endured five match points en route to an epic 5-7 7-5 7-5 win over Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, while Francisco Cerundolo upset 22 seed Gael Monfils in straight sets.

Czech 16-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova became the youngest player to reach the fourth round in Miami since 2004 as she beat Victoria Azarenka, who retired when trailing 6-2 3-0.

The 32-year-old, who abruptly left the court despite protests from the umpire later apologised for her actions on Twitter, saying she “shouldn’t have gone on the court”.

She said in a statement: “The last few weeks have been extremely stressful in my personal life. Last match took a lot out of me, but I wanted to play in front of a great audience as they helped me through my first match.

“I wanted to go out there and try, but it was a mistake.

“I’m sorry to the fans for what happened as you were great to cheer for me. It was the only reason I decided to step on the court.

“I always look forward to the pressure and challenge of competition but today it was too much. I have to and will learn from this.”

Elsewhere, soon-to-be new world number one Iga Swiatek dispatched Madison Brengle in straight sets to extend her career-best winning streak to 13.

She will face American Coco Gauff in the fourth round after the 14 seed battled past China’s Shuai Zhang 7-6 (1) 7-5.

There were strong wins for fellow seeds Paula Badosa, Petra Kvitova and Ons Jabeur, while Veronika Kudermetova held off a late rally from Shelby Rogers in a 6-1 7-5 victory.

And Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina will take on 16 seed Jessica Pegula in the round of 16 after coming back from a set down against Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia.