Miami Open: Jannik Sinner survives scare to advance; Andy Murray says emotional goodbye (2024)

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World number three Jannik Sinner survived a scare from Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor as he moved into the fourth round of the Miami Open with a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 victory on Sunday.

The second-seed Italian, a two-time finalist in Miami, struggled against Griekspoor’s power play in the first set but turned the contest around after a rain break at 3-3 in the second set.

Sinner came out fighting and took the second before utterly dominating the third to book his place in the last 16.

“I think even the first set was really close, but it (got) away,” said Sinner.

“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 has been a tough day for me, but very happy about the result.”

Sinner will face Australian Christopher O’Connell, who emerged with a tight win over the USA’s Martin Damm 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5).

Reigning champion Daniil Medvedev beat Britain’s Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-1 and while he was happy with his performance he said that rapidly deteriorating balls were creating unusual games.

“It’s a bit strange. The court is pretty fast but the balls get old very fast. So at one moment in the rally, you feel like there isn’t much you can do. So you can’t go for the winner because the risk reward isn’t there. It’s the same for the opponent, so we just hit, hit,” he told reporters.

There was an atmosphere akin to a South American World Cup football match for the clash between Chile’s 22nd-seeded Nicolas Jarry and Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild.

After upsetting American Taylor Fritz on Saturday, Seyboth Wild was hoping for another scalp and he pushed the more experienced Jarry hard in front of a packed mostly South American crowd on the third court.

Jarry’s staying power proved decisive as he ran out 6-7 (1/7), 7-5, 6-3 winner.

Hungarian Fabian Marozsan upset world number seven Holger Rune with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph in the second round.

The convincing victory, in just 59 minutes, was a third win against a top-10 opponent in a Masters event for the 57th-ranked 24-year-old.

Marozsan dominated his Danish opponent from the outset, striking 23 winners and saving all three break points that he faced.

The Hungarian’s two previous wins against top-10 opponents at this level came when he beat Carlos Alcaraz in Rome and Casper Ruud in Shanghai last year.

“I enjoy playing at the highest level. I had a great day and enjoyed every moment on the center court against a very talented player,” said Marozsan.

“I tried to put more pressure on him and I played very high intensity tennis and maybe he didn’t find the way to come back or do something different.”

Marozsan will face Alexei Popyrin in the third round after the Australian beat Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-4.

Shelton fights through

After three of the four top-ranked Americans exited the tournament on Saturday, Ben Shelton kept the Star Spangled flag flying in Florida with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Spanish teenager Martin Landaluce.

Shelton did not face a break point in the contest and won both sets with unstoppable aces down the middle.

“I thought I was pretty complete today,” said Shelton. “I thought I did a great job backing up my serve and usually when I have a lot of confidence and holding easily, the rest of my game continues to flow, and my confidence just grows.

“I think that helps me a lot and puts a lot of pressure on the other guy.”

In the third round, Shelton will be against 23rd seed Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who defeated Russian Roman Safiullin 7-5, 6-1.

Murray says emotional farewell

Andy Murray exited the Miami Open for the final time and in characteristic style he did so with a performance full of grit and skill but also plenty of passion.

The emotion of the game itself, a missed chance for a third straight win in a tournament for the first time in over a year, was enhanced by Murray knowing this week was his final appearance in a city he calls his “tennis home”.

The two-times Miami winner who will be 37 in May, lost out in a thrilling third set tie-break to Czech Tomas Machac, managing to battle on after receiving treatment for an ankle injury.

The Scotsman had saved match point in the third before forcing a tie-break, which he led 5-3 before Machac delivered some killer blows to win 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5)

It had been three hours and 28 minutes of enthralling tennis, arguably the most entertaining of the tournament so far, albeit strangely on the third level, Butch Buchholz court.

“Obviously a disappointing finish for me but brilliant crowd, brilliant atmosphere, very tight match,” said Murray.

“I was obviously a couple of points away from finishing it and to be fair to him he came out with some big shots, played high risk tennis and that paid off for him today,” the Briton said.

Murray’s injury, late in the third set, saw him hop off the court in agony with what at first looked to be a possible Achilles tendon injury but later turned out to be merely a very painful ankle sprain.

But having come through major hip surgery to extend his career, Murray was able to appreciate the value of his performance and his earlier round wins over Italian Matteo Berrettini and Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

“It’s been pretty positive, there were some good signs in my game, definitely an improvement on the last few tournaments, not perfect but considering everything to be winning matches against the players I did and pushing Thomas like I did today, I’m proud of myself because it’s extremely difficult to do what I’m doing with the issue that I have.

“To still be able to compete with these guys is a credit to myself and the work that I’ve done and the effort that I’ve put into this to keep myself in this position,” he said.

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Even after the toughest of losses, @andy_murray still makes times for all his fans 🤝

Thank you, Andy 🫡#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/YL5zo02emp

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 24, 2024

Murray has for years done the bulk of his off-season training in Miami and says he has developed a genuine fondness for the area.

“Miami has been a special place for me during my career. It’s been my tennis home really. I’ve done so much of my work and training and preparation here. I love the city,” he said.

Before leaving the court, he showed his appreciation to a crowd that had willed him on, chanting and cheering for him throughout the long battle with Machac.

“The support was brilliant, they’ve got obviously Americans in the crowd, there’s Brits in the crowd, a lot of Latin Americans as well here who love their tennis and have always given me really great support here,” he said.

“So was a bit more emotional leaving the court today than I might be at some of the other events,” he said.

Handling farewells is something that Murray knows will await him throughout the rest of the season as he heads towards his expected retirement later this year.

“I’m looking forward to the end now and just give my best the next few months and then get to be at home with my family and I’m looking forward to that,” he said.

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