Alexandrova ends teenager Tagger’s Miami run
Russian 11th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated Austrian wild card Lilli Tagger 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Miami Open presented by Itau 2026. Tagger, the 18-year-old 2025 junior French Open champion, exits in the second round. Alexandrova will face Peyton Stearns or Jaqueline Cristian next.
Lilli Tagger, 2026 | © Imago / PsNewz
Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, seed No. 11, defeated Austrian wild card Lilli Tagger 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the third round of the Miami Open on Friday night.
Alexandrova, ranked No. 11, was composed and clinical throughout, never allowing the young Austrian a foothold in either set. She will next face the winner of the match between American Peyton Stearns and Romanian Jaqueline Cristian, seed No. 34.
Tagger’s Miami wildcard run ends against a ruthless Alexandrova
The defeat will sting, but Tagger’s presence at Hard Rock Stadium this week has been anything but ordinary. The 18-year-old, born in February 2008, is the reigning junior French Open champion and trains at the academy of former Roland Garros winner Francesca Schiavone.
She had earned her place in the second round the hard way, defeating German qualifier Ella Seidel in a gruelling three-set battle 6-7(8), 6-4, 7-5. It was her first main draw appearance at a WTA 1000 event in Miami, having already made her WTA 1000 debut at Indian Wells earlier this month, where she defeated Varvara Gracheva in the first round.
Friday night was a reminder of the gap that still exists between junior pedigree and elite senior tennis, but Alexandrova needed to be at her best to close it out cleanly.
