• Miami Masters

Nadal and Wawrinka cruise into last 16

ESPN staff
March 24, 2014
Rafael Nadal is bidding to win his 27th Masters 1000 title and first in Miami © AP
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Rafael Nadal was handed a warning for slow play during his 59-minute demolition of Denis Istomin at the Sony Open.

The world No. 1, who has been criticised for taking too long between points by Roger Federer and Dmitry Tursunov already in 2014, brushed off the incident as he wrapped up a 6-0 6-1 victory to reach the fourth round in Miami.

"I played a very complete match," said Nadal, who has never won at Crandon Park. "No match is perfect but I did a lot of things very well. No mistakes, serving with good percentage, and playing a lot of winners.

Dimitrov comes to ball girl's aid

Grigor Dimitrov gave up a break late in the second set © AP
  • Grigor Dimitrov may have lost to Kei Nishikori 7-6(1) 7-5 but earned the praise of the Miami crowd after helping a ball girl suffering in the heat.

    Realising the ball girl was disoriented after asking for his towel, Dimitrov helped her from the court to lie down on a bench before resuming play. He did not receive a time violation.

"My movements were better than what I did last event events. That's a very important thing for me."

Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka, who has admitted to suffering a post-grand-slam victory hangover, beat Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5 6-4 to book his spot in the fourth round.

"Just doing my job. Simple," Wawrinka said. "My job is to play tennis, try to play the best possible, and to do that I have to practice well.

"People are expecting more from me but from myself it's the same. The pressure is same. I always put a lot of pressure on myself and always want to win matches and play well."

Wawrinka will next face 22nd seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, who recovered from a set down to beat Dusan Lajovic 3-6 6-0 7-6(5).

Dolgopolov, who reached the semi-finals in Indian Wells, admitted he remains worried about unrest in his native Ukraine, where his mother and other relatives still live.

"For me it was important it has calmed down and no people are dying," said Dolgopolov, who was born in Kiev. "But there's a little bit of chaos still going on, and no one knows who is the ruling party and who is controlling the country. It's a mess."

Earlier in the day, 12th seed Milos Raonic needed just 56 minutes to see off Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1 6-2. Benjamin Becker is also through after beating a spirited Aljaz Bedene 6-3 7-5.

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