Second-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner came out of a rain delay firing on all cylinders, rallying for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 victory over No. 25 seed Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands on Sunday in the third round of the Miami Open in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Sinner was trailing 7-5, 3-3 when showers rolled in and suspended play. He was in complete control when he returned to the court, though, winning 10 of 13 games following the delay to punch his ticket to the fourth round.
“I think even the first set was really close, but it went away,” Sinner said. “I think mentally I tried to stay strong, which I did, and I was in a tough situation today. After the rain came, I tried to come back a bit more aggressive, which I did, and obviously I’m really happy.
“It’s been a tough day for me, but very happy about the result.”
For the match, Sinner totaled 15 aces to Griekspoor’s 11. He won 46 of 51 first-serve points and racked up 36 winners.
Sinner will next face Australia’s Christopher O’Connell, a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) winner over American wild card Martin Damm on Sunday.
In other third-round matches, Matteo Arnaldi of Italy beat Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6 (7), while Czech Tomas Machac edged Great Britain’s Andy Murray 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5). Shapovalov was playing on a protected ranking.
No. 7 seed Casper Ruud of Norway also advanced to the fourth round.
Hungarian Fabian Marozsan headlined the slate of second-round matches with a 6-1, 6-1 upset of No. 6 seed Holger Rune of Denmark. It marked the third top-10 win of Marozsan’s career, as Rune sits seventh in the world rankings.
“It is a great feeling to play at the highest level,” Marozsan said. “I try to play my best tennis … and I am enjoying my time here.”
Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann and Australian Alexei Popyrin also knocked off seeded foes. Hanfmann ousted French 19th seed Adrian Mannarino 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-4, and Popyrin downed No. 26 seed Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4.
Playing in front of a friendly crowd, 16th-seeded American Ben Shelton, who resides in Gainesville, Fla., swept Spanish wild card Martin Landaluce 6-3, 6-4.
Other second-round winners included No. 9 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, 11th-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, No. 23 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy and 24th-seeded German Jan-Lennard Struff.
Three more matches were scheduled for later Sunday.
–Field Level Media