Miami Open: Tiafoe, Berrettini Make Winning Starts; Rublev Bows Out

Miami Open: Tiafoe, Berrettini make winning starts; Rublev bows out (Image Source: IANS)

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: Playing in his 100th ATP Masters 1000 match, Frances Tiafoe earned his 50th win at the prestigious level with a 7-5, 7-6(5) win against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The 27-year-old earned his first Top 40 win since beating Daniil Medvedev at Laver Cup last September by improving to 3-1 in his Lexus ATP Head-to-Head series with Davidovich Fokina, avenging a defeat to the Spaniard last month in Acapulco, ATP reports.

Wins like that are big for me," said Tiafoe, who saved all four break points he faced after dropping serve in the opening game. "Any win right now is big for me, but especially the way I played. I was super aggressive, so I'm really happy with it."

Tiafoe will next meet 17th seed Arthur Fils, who led lucky loser Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 2-3 before the Canadian retired with an ankle injury.

Andrey Rublev, on the other hand, became the latest upset victim with Belgium's Zizou Bergs knocking him out 7-5, 6-4. The 25-year-old Bergs earned his first Top 20 win by beating the No. 9 in the ATP Rankings to advance to his first ATP Masters 1000 third round.

Bergs will seek to score another upset against Matteo Berrettini in the third round, after the Italian opened his Miami campaign with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win against Hugo Gaston.

In a rematch of the 2024 Kitzbuhel final, the 29th-seeded Berrettini beat lucky loser Gaston with a dominant serving performance.

Meanwhile, the 18-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca became the youngest player to reach round three at ATP Masters 1000 since Carlos Alcaraz in Paris in 2021.

Fonseca delivered a five-star display to defeat 19th seed Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-3 and reach the third round at an ATP Masters 1000 for the first time in his fledgling career.

Due to a last-minute schedule change, Fonseca and Humbert's second-round clash was relocated from Grandstand to Stadium.

Fonseca delivered a five-star display to defeat 19th seed Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-3 and reach the third round at an ATP Masters 1000 for the first time in his fledgling career.

Article Source: IANS