Tsitsipas Survives As Hurkacz, Tiafoe Tumble Out Of Miami Masters; Alcaraz v Paul Tues.

Second seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas made his debut this week and got tested Monday at the Miami Masters third round by Cristian Garin in a match that went the distance 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

The Greek was broken to drop the second but rebounded in the third breaking the Chilean qualifier for 5-4 then serving it out. Tsitsipas was solid on serve with 12 aces and only faced break points in that second set.

“I was waiting for a very long time to get out and play,” said Tsitsipas who had a walkover in the second round. “It has almost felt like a vacation this past week, staying in Miami. I glad I got started. It was a difficult match against an opponent who has played good tennis against good opponents in the past.

“I am happy with the way things turned around and my confidence towards the end. I had an eye-on-the-prize attitude and it was effective with how I played in the last game when he was serving.”

He returns tomorrow to face Russian big man Karen Khachanov who cruised past Jiri Lehecka 6-2, 6-4.

In a battle of former Miami semifinalists, No. 25 seed Francisco Cerundolo bounced No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets 6-2, 7-5. The Argentine broke Auger-Aliassime five times, saved a break point when serving it out while the Canadian won just eight points on second serve.

“I’m very happy to be back again in the round of 16 here, in a Masters 1000, here in Miami,” said Cerundolo who lost to Auger-Aliassime at Indian Wells. “I’m super happy that I’m playing as well as last year, super happy with my level, and [hope] to keep going.”

Other matches saw Adrian Mannarino upset former tournament winner Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(7-5), 7-6. Lorenzo Sonego upended 12th-seeded Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-4. The two had to leave the court for a two hour delay with the Italian up a break 3-2 in the second.

Quentin Halys dismissed American Mackenzie McDonald 7-6(7-2), 6-3. And qualifier Christopher Eubanks bested Gregoire Barrere of France in straights coming from 6-2 down in the breaker 6-3, 7-6(9-7). For the 26-year-old Eubanks, it’s his best result at an ATP event and it puts him in the Top 100 for a first time.

The Tuesday slate includes all fourth round play led by defending champion Carlos Alcaraz who collides with Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Paul. Paul won their only previous contest in the Canadian Masters last summer.

No. 4 Daniil Medvedev returns to meet Halys, No. 6 Andrey Rublev faces No. 10 Jannik Sinner, No. 7 Holger Rune battles No. 9 Taylor Fritz, Cerundolo clashes with Sonego, No. 26 Botic Van De Zandschulp squares off against Emil Ruusuvuori and Christopher Eubanks takes on lefty Frnechman Adrian Mannarino.

TUESDAY MIAMI MASTERS SCHEDULE
STADIUM
Matches Start At: 12:00 noon
ATP Taylor FRITZ (USA) [9] vs Holger RUNE (DEN) [7]
Not Before 2:00 PM
WTA Martina Trevisan (ITA) [25] vs Elena Rybakina (KAZ) [10]
ATP Carlos ALCARAZ (ESP) [1] vs Tommy PAUL (USA) [16]

Not Before 7:00 PM
WTA Jessica Pegula (USA) [3] vs Anastasia Potapova [27]
ATP Quentin HALYS (FRA) vs Daniil MEDVEDEV [4]

GRANDSTAND
Matches Start At: 11:00 am
ATP Jannik SINNER (ITA) [10] vs Andrey RUBLEV [6]
ATP Botic VAN DE ZANDSCHULP (NED) [26] vs Emil RUUSUVUORI (FIN)
Not Before 2:30 pm
ATP Karen KHACHANOV [14] vs Stefanos TSITSIPAS (GRE) [2]
ATP Adrian MANNARINO (FRA) vs [Q] Christopher EUBANKS (USA)
Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP Francisco CERUNDOLO (ARG) [25] vs Lorenzo SONEGO (ITA)