Katie Boulter and Cameron Norrie knocked out to end British hopes at Miami Open
British No 4 Fran Jones also retired through illness with the trio’s exits ending British representation in Florida
Katie Boulter , Cameron Norrie and Fran Jones all exited the Miami Open , ending British hopes in the singles events. Norrie, who replaced Jack Draper as British No 1 last week, pushed American Alex Michelsen to three sets in their second-round encounter before falling 7-5 6-7(4-7) 6-4. The 30-year-old has rediscovered some of his best tennis in the ‘Sunshine Double’ of Indian Wells and Miami, beating Alex de Minaur in California before his run was ended by Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, but was narrowly edged out here.
He lost a tight first set as 21-year-old Michelsen broke in the 12th game, before coming back from 3-0 down in the second set to force and win a tie-break. But Michelsen broke again in the third game of the third set and kept his nose in front to make the third round, where he will play Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo. Boulter’s good run in Miami - where she reached the third round of a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time in over a year - came to an end at the hands of 13th seed Karolina Muchova.
Cameron Norrie's run was ended by Alex Michelsen (Getty Images) The former French Open finalist broke twice in the first set and once again in the second set to win 6-3 7-5 and set up a last-16 meeting with young talent Alexandra Eala. British No 4 Jones achieved a childhood dream by beating Venus Williams in the first round but retired with illness against another American, world No 5 Jessica Pegula , in the second. Jones was unwell throughout her win over Williams and was frequently heard coughing on court, and continued to be affected by a chest infection as she retired at 6-1, 3-0 down against Pegula.
She said: “I didn't want to lose the opportunity to play Venus, but it's a whole different ball game playing Jess. Naomi Osaka cast doubt on whether she will continue to persevere with tennis after an opening-match loss in Miami (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) “You need to be 10 out of 10 to compete against her and I'm probably a four out of 10 today. If I'm not able to give my everything out there, I don't see the point when I'm already battling my general fitness as it is.