Miami: World number two Jannik Sinner advanced to the quarter-finals of the Miami Open on Tuesday, defeating unseeded American Alex Michelsen in straight sets to keep alive his bid for the coveted Sunshine Double.
The Italian second seed, fresh from his triumph at Indian Wells, overcame a tough challenge from the 40th-ranked Michelsen to register a 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) victory in one hour and 41 minutes at Hard Rock Stadium.
Sinner, a four-time Grand Slam champion, will next face 19th seed Frances Tiafoe in the last eight after the American battled past France’s Terence Atmane 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.
The match against Michelsen proved demanding. After a cautious start, Sinner applied pressure on the American’s serve in the first set, breaking in the 11th game before closing it out. Michelsen fought back in the second set, breaking for a 4-2 lead and extending it to 5-2, but struggled with the bright afternoon sunlight. Sinner rallied to force a tie-break and sealed the win with a powerful serve that Michelsen returned wide.
“I feel like I served very well in important moments and that helped me out, especially in the tough moments,” Sinner said afterwards. “But today was not easy — I played a night match yesterday and today in the daytime, so the conditions were very different.” He fired 15 aces compared to Michelsen’s three.
In other fourth-round matches, Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce, ranked 151st, produced another upset by defeating American 32nd seed Sebastian Korda 2-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4. The 20-year-old, who also eliminated 14th seed Karen Khachanov, dedicated the victory to his late grandmother. He will face Czech 21st seed Jiri Lehecka, who ousted sixth seed Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2.
American 22nd seed Tommy Paul cruised past Argentina’s Tomas Etcheverry 6-1, 6-3 to set up a quarter-final against France’s Arthur Fils, who defeated Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4.
Argentina’s 18th seed Francisco Cerundolo continued his strong run, beating French 31st seed Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-3 after his earlier upset of Daniil Medvedev. Cerundolo will meet German third seed Alexander Zverev, who defeated France’s Quentin Halys 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/1).
Sinner’s progress extends his record streak of consecutive sets won at Masters 1000 events. The hard-court tournament continues with the quarter-finals scheduled for Wednesday.
