Miami (AFP) – Taylor Fritz was upset by Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild in straight sets at the Miami Open on Saturday as top ranked US men tumbled out of the tournament.
Three of the top four ranked American players were eliminated during Saturday’s opening session with Francis Tiafoe also knocked out and Tommy Paul retiring hurt.
Wearing the bright yellow of Brazil, Seyboth Wild, ranked 76th in the world and cheered on by loud support from his compatriots on stadium court, produced some impressive winners and some flamboyant shots on his way to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 12th-seeded Fritz.
“I played a really solid match today, I barely missed,” said Seyboth Wild after his win. “It was exactly the plan with my coach before the match. I held up pretty well on the backhand and used my forehand to win the match,” he added.
Fritz’s early departure came shortly after Tiafoe went out to another lower-ranked player in Australian Christopher O’Connell. O’Connell battled to a 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) win over the 21st-seeded Tiafoe after play began following a three-hour rain delay.
Paul had to retire with an ankle injury in his match against fellow American, wild card Martin Damm. Paul had won the first set 6-4 and was 2-1 down in the second when he abandoned.
Greek 10th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas also headed for the exit door at the Hard Rock Stadium after he was upset by 126th ranked Denis Shapovalov of Canada. The 24-year-old Shapovalov snapped an eight-match losing streak against top 20 players as he won back-to-back games at a Masters 1000 event for the first time since Cincinnati in 2022.
“It’s definitely an emotional win for me. I felt like I was playing great tennis in practice and wasn’t really able to…close out matches so it’s a great feeling to beat a player like Stefanos,” he said.
Italy’s Jannik Sinner, the Australian Open champion ranked third in the world, made a confident start to his bid in Miami with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over compatriot and qualifier Andrea Vavassori.
Progress was also straightforward for defending champion Daniil Medvedev who advanced into the third round with a 6-4 6-2 win over Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.
– Murray moves on -Britain’s Andy Murray, a two-time winner in Miami, advanced to the third round with a 7-6 (7/0) 6-3 win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Murray, who has said he will probably retire later this year, celebrated with some passion after clinching the win, his first against a top-50 opponent since August.
“Miami has been like my tennis home really, I’ve done so much of my work and training and preparation here and I love the city and this is my last time playing here so it’s nice to get another opportunity,” he said.
The match had been at 3-3 in the first set when Friday’s downpour forced the contest into Saturday.
The 36-year-old Murray had lost his last two matches against the Argentine who is 32 places above the 62nd-ranked Scotsman.
American woes continued on the women’s side of the tournament with Sloane Stephens crashing out to Romanian Sorana Cirstea who triumphed 6-2, 6-1.
However, Jessica Pegula advanced to the third round after her opponent Zhu Lin had to retire ill while trailing 6-4, 4-1 in the second set.
World number one Iga Swiatek needed just 67 minutes to cruise past Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-1 6-1.
Rain on Friday had led to the cancellation of the bulk of the scheduled matches, making for a packed schedule later on Saturday.
World number two Carlos Alcaraz women’s world number two Aryna Sabalenka were due on court later on Saturday.
© 2024 AFP
