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Nicolas Jarry and Fabian Marozsan both produced career best performances as they eliminated Casper Ruud and Alex de Minaur respectively to reach the quarter finals of the Miami Masters.
I try to maintain myself and be very strong physically in every stroke Nicolas Jarry
Meanwhile Carlos Alcaraz and the defending champion Daniil Medvedev, plus Jannik Sinner, all advanced as expected but not without a hiccup or two.
Chile’s Jarry achieved his landmark victory by outhitting the seventh seeded Norwegian, Ruud 7-6(3) 6-3 to the delight of a partisan crowd packed with South Americans to set up a meeting with the Russian defending champion, Medvedev who after a tricky first set, defeated Germany’s Dominic Koepfer 7-6(5) 6-0.
With the vocal backing the 6’6” Chilean received on breaking the world No.8 in the opening game, the scene was set for his noisy ride to victory.
Ruud managed to level for 3-3 but his big-serving opponent always looked like breaking though the Norwegian’s defences, as he did in the tie-break to gain the first set.
By now Ruud was struggling to keep apace as the pressure mounted forcing a double fault to go down a break 4-2.
Jarry pushed his advantage and powered his way to his win, securing it on his first match point with an ace and converting it with a vicious backhand winner.
Speaking after the match Jarry said: “The crowd has been amazing; I’m very happy with the result and the way I played.
“I was very strong on court not missing many easy balls, which was pleasing considering the conditions were so tough.
“The wind caused a problem for myself and Casper, so I was happy to deal with that.
“I grew up on clay, so I know the feeling of having a strong forehand; Casper has it and that’s why he’s been a finalist at the French Open.
“I try to maintain myself and be very strong physically in every stroke.”
His next hurdle is Medvedev who survived a bit of scare before securing his 350th win.
Daniil Medvedev shakes hands with Dominik Koepfer
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
The defending champion claimed an early break but not before he took Koepfer to deuce six times, only to then lose his own serve in the next game.
The German showed plenty of variety which kept Medvedev very much on his toes as he moved into a 4-3 lead and then 5-4 to leave him serving to stay in the set.
Having achieved that it was left to the tiebreak to separate them and initially it looked as if Koepfer had the upper hand by going into a 4-0 lead.
However, a forehand error allowed Medvedev back into the game and he turned the tables to the German’s increasing frustration.
In the second Medvedev too full advantage of the momentum he had gained surging into a 3-0 lead leaving Koepfer struggling to find an answer as he slumped to a bagel.
“I think sometimes it happens, when you lose the first set the way he lost it,” Medvedev said of Kopfer’s second set collapse.
“He played very good, probably was closer to winning it because of the 4-0 in the tie-break and when you lose such a set, especially when the points were tough, it brings your energy down.
“I knew I had to use that in the beginning of the second set. That’s why it was the most important and I managed to do it. Sometimes that happens, but the level was high today.”
Jannik Sinner took time to get into his stride
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Meanwhile Sinner experienced a similar scenario against the Aussie Christopher O’Connell but he recovered after a nervy start to go through 6-4 6-3.
It was all O’Connell at the start of the match to go 4-2 after saving two break points to prevent Sinner getting back on serve but the Italian Australian Open champion, raised his own level with four consecutive games to settle the opener.
An early break continued Sinners run as the momentum swung Sinners’ way which even a brief rain delay didn’t slow.
Speaking after the match, Sinner said: “Today was much windier, so I had to adjust a little bit.
“He started off really well, I made a couple of mistakes and when you’re a break down, especially at the beginning, it’s always tough.
“I had a couple of chances even before I broke him, so I knew I was doing the right kind of things. I tried to stay solid, he made a couple of mistakes at important moments and that was the key today.”
When asked about the more dominant nature of the second set, he replied: “It’s about how you can find the right solution in these moments; today I found it, but let’s see what happens in the next round,” where a very much in-form Tomas Machac awaits after the Czech ousted Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi 6-3 6-3.
Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan, ranked 57th in the world, continued his impressive run with another upset win, triumphing 6-4 0-6 6-1 over ninth seed Australian Alex de Minaur.
Maroszan, who will break into the top 40 in Monday’s rankings, is playing in just his fourth Masters event and will play in his second quarter-final at this level against German Alexander Zverev who ousted Karen Khachanov 6-1 6-4.
The final quarter final place will be filled by Carlos Alcaraz, the top seed and world No.2 who is chasing the ‘Sunshine Double’ after winning the Indian Wells Masters eight days ago.
The Spaniard made light work of Lorenzo Musetti defeating the Italian 6-3 6-3.
Fabian Marozsan scored one of his best results
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
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