Miami, Florida, 30 March 2022 | Matt Trollope

Popular Australian trio Daria Saville, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios exited the Miami Open on Tuesday, ending what has been a memorable singles campaign for the green-and-gold in Florida.

Saville fell in the women’s quarterfinals to a red-hot Belinda Bencic, after Kyrgios and Kokkinakis lost in the last 16 to Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev respectively.

Kyrgios and Kokkinakis remain alive in the doubles event; the reigning Australian Open champions later on Tuesday beat Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos – whom they also defeated in the semifinals at Melbourne Park – in straight sets to reach the last four.

Saville’s run to the quarterfinals made her the lowest-ranked quarterfinalist in Miami Open history.

The 249th-ranked wildcard, on the comeback trail from plantar fasciitis and Achilles surgery, was appearing in her first WTA 1000-level quarterfinal since progressing the last eight in Rome almost five years ago.

But she found 22nd seed Bencic too tough; the Tokyo Olympic singles gold medallist motored to a 6-1 6-2 win on Stadium Court, striking 23 winners to 14 as she triumphed in just over an hour.

What a few weeks! 6 weeks ago I was ranked outside 600. The goal was to half my ranking and be around 350. We more than achieved that. I didn’t know my Achilles would pull up and it’s doing better than expected. Enjoyed every match I played! Can’t wait for clay!

— Daria Saville (@Daria_gav) March 29, 2022

Despite the loss, Saville has built an impressive 14-7 win-loss record in 2022 and is projected to rise to 127th in next week’s rankings.

She has won nine of her past 11 singles matches after reaching the last 16 Indian Wells.

It has been a similar story this season for Kokkinakis, who continues to work his way back up the rankings following years of injury struggles.

The 25-year-old qualified for the main draw in Miami and built a five-match winning streak before Zverev ended that with a 6-4 6-4 win, thanks to service breaks in the fifth game of both sets.

Yet Kokkinakis is now 16-6 in 2022 and is expected to improve his ranking to No.83 next week, after beginning the year at No.171.

Zverev on Kokkinakis: "He will be at the top of the game very shortly, I think. I think he's going to be top 50, top 20. Then we will see how it goes. He has a massive game. He is obviously a massive talent which was hindered by injuries. I wish him nothing but the best."

— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) March 29, 2022

By reaching the fourth round in Miami, Kokkinakis equalled his best Masters-level result, which came more than seven years ago at Indian Wells 2015.

Kyrgios is projected to return to the top 100 after another eye-catching campaign on US hard courts; the Canberran last fortnight advanced to the quarterfinals at Indian Wells.

But on Tuesday, in a first-time meeting with last year’s Miami finalist Sinner, Kyrgios came up against an opponent who was too strong and steady.

After losing a tight first set, the volatile Aussie was handed a game penalty to begin the second set after smashing his racquet, giving Sinner an immediate break lead.

The ninth seed maintained his advantage for the rest of the set and broke Kyrgios again in the final game to complete a 7-6(3) 6-3 win.

Aussies in action – Miami

TODAY’S RESULTS

Women’s singles, quarterfinals
[22] Belinda Bencic (SUI) d [WC] Daria Saville (AUS) 6-1 6-2

Men’s singles, fourth round
[9] Jannik Sinner (ITA) d [WC] Nick Kyrgios (AUS) 7-6(3) 6-3
[2] Alexander Zverev (GER) d [Q] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 6-4 6-4

Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
[WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)/Nick Kyrgios (AUS) d[3] Marcel Granollers (ESP)/Horacio Zeballos (ARG) 7-5 6-2

COMING UP

Men’s doubles, semifinals
[WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)/Nick Kyrgios (AUS) v TBC

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